First Amendment News

Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009 Accused dentist wants the media locked out Without citing any legal precedents, the lawyer for a dentist accused of inappropriate touching by more than a dozen female patients has asked the judge to bar the media from his trial. Sacramento Bee Thursday, Jan. 01, 2009 By Hudson Sangree hsangree@sacbee.com A Woodland dentist accused of fondling more than a dozen female patients has asked a judge to bar the media from covering

The Recording Industry Association of America says it will stop suing people who share copyright-protected music and instead try to persuade Internet service providers to block users who ignore repeated warnings. Music industry drops effort to sue song swappers By The Associated Press 12.29.08 LOS ANGELES — The group representing the U.S. recording industry says it has abandoned its policy of suing people for sharing songs protected by copyright and will work with Internet service

W. Mark Felt, the former No. 2 man in the FBI official, was a crucial source for Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward during the Nixon-era Watergate scandal. He died at the age of 95 in Santa Rosa. Mark Felt, Watergate’s `Deep Throat,’ dies at 95 By LOUISE CHU, Associated Press Writer Friday, December 19, 2008 (12-19) 07:51 PST San Francisco (AP) — W. Mark Felt, the former FBI second-in-command who revealed himself as “Deep Throat”

The Bush administration is expanding the definition of confidential “education records.” The Student Press Law Center says that parents and journalists will have a harder time obtaining basic information about campus safety, student performance and discipline. PRESS RELEASE: New Education Privacy Rules Threaten Public Accountability © 2008 Student Press Law Center December 15, 2008 Contact: Frank D. LoMonte Executive Director (703) 807-1904 director@splc.org New education privacy regulations slipping into effect at the eleventh hour of

The Ventura County judge who banned a newspaper from publishing details of a court document in a murder case admits his order was unfair and unenforceable, but he declines to lift the ruling until a defendant can ask an appellate court to uphold the order, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. See the Ventura County Star’s previous story here. Judge won’t lift order he says is unenforceable Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, December 16, 2008