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First Amendment News

Scramento City College student president reinstated after Brown Act violation in recall election

donal brown November 12, 2009

Associated Student Government President Steve Macias was back in office when backers of the nullified recall violated the Brown Act by not posting the time and location of a meeting to organize the recall election. Macias was the target of the recall for refusing administration orders to ask a pro-life group to leave campus during Constitution Day events. -DB Sac City Express.com November 9, 2009 By Stephanie Rodriguez Associated Student Government President Steve Macias has been

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California: Private water board dinners now open to public

donal brown November 12, 2009

The Castaic Lake Water Agency has invited the public to its dinners before board meetings. Despite assurances that no water business was on the table, the dinners could lead to violations of the Brown Act, the state’s open government law. -DB The Signal Santa Clarita Valley November 12, 2009 By Brian Charles For years, Castaic Lake Water Agency board members have had private dinners together before their public board meetings. Until two weeks ago, those dinners

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San Diego ACLU challenges alleged violations of college employees’ free speech rights

donal brown November 12, 2009

In a letter to the Southwestern College president, the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego urged him to repudiate his actions restricting a peaceful demonstration on campus to protest budget cuts. -DB ACLU San Diego and Imperial Counties Press Release November 9, 2009 Saying that a public college “must uphold the highest possible commitment to freedom of speech and exchange of ideas,” the ACLU sent a demand letter to Southwestern College’s president expressing serious

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California court rejects Brown Act argument in upholding firing of librarian

donal brown November 12, 2009

A California appeals court upheld the firing of a San Diego law librarian for a scathing e-mail he sent to his employer. The court removed the librarian’s free speech claims to federal court and rejected the Brown Act argument that claimed that an outside attorney should not have been present during termination hearings. -DB Metropolitan News-Enterprise November 12, 2009 By Kenneth Ofgang A reference librarian whose work included assisting self-represented litigants with their appeals yesterday

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Online debate between candidate’s son and unidentified writer provokes another dispute over anonymous speech

donal brown November 12, 2009

Citizen Media Law Project blogger Marc Randazza says that although a comment made by an adult to a teen-ager in an online debate was malicious and juvenile, it was not defamatory and should enjoy First Amendment  protection given court decisions on the right to speak anonymously. -DB To read Marc’s full comment, go here: Citizen Media Law Project

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