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First Amendment News

Anti-SLAPP law used against citizens legislature intended to protect

donal brown October 5, 2009

The Redding Record Searchlight says that when Shasta County uses an anti-SLAPP law to sue a citizen seeking redress of grievance, it constitutes a regrettable development for a law intended to protect the right of citizens to speak out on controversial issues. -DB The Redding Record Searchlight Opinion October 5, 2009 Leave it to the lawyers. In 1992, the state passed a law aimed at protecting citizens who speak their minds on controversial issues from expensive,

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FBI searches house of man arrested for using Twitter to coordinate protests in Pittsburgh

donal brown October 5, 2009

The FBI last Thursday spent 16 hours searching the Queens house of a man arrested in Pittsburgh on September 24 at the Group of 20 summit. The man, who claims to be an anarchist, is facing criminal charges of helping  protesters avoid arrest after they were ordered to disperse. -DB The New York Times October 5, 2009 By Colin Moynihan As demonstrations have evolved with the help of text messages and online social networks, so too

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Police review board findings kept secret

donal brown October 5, 2009

An opinion piece in the Redding Record Searchlight suggests that a state law opening the reports of police review boards to the public would actually reduce suspicion and distrust of police departments and enhance their reputations. -DB Redding Record Searchlight Opinion October 1, 2009 The greatest benefit of such a panel: It would open a window onto the rarely seen world of police departments’ disciplinary proceedings. But that window is nailed shut. A 2006 state

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Supreme Court upholds lower court order for release of priest child abuse records

donal brown October 5, 2009

The Bridgeport, Connecticut Roman Catholic Diocese may be nearing the end of its seven-year long fight to keep sealed over 12,000 pages of records concerning priests’ sexual abuse of children as the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a court order to release the files. –DB The New York Times October 5, 2009 By Paul Vitello The United States Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport to

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Obama administration wants national security exemption in federal shield law

donal brown October 2, 2009

The Obama administration wants the federal shield law now in Congress to force reporters to disclose confidential sources who leak national security information. -DB The New York Times October 1, 2009 By Charlie Savage WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration has told lawmakers that it opposes legislation that could protect reporters from being imprisoned if they refuse to disclose confidential sources who leak material about national security, according to several people involved with the negotiations. The

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