First Amendment News

Schwarzenegger’s Calendars

Schwarzenegger’s Calendars CFAC sued Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to obtain his calendars of meetings and those of his top aides. CFAC argued that a state Supreme Court decision sustaining a denial of access to these records was implicitly overturned by Prop 59, which the governor had championed during the election. Schwarzenegger settled, agreeing to turn over nearly all the calendars. Legal Documents Commentary In the news Legal Documents Verified Petition for Writ of Mandate Governor’s Office

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CFAC v. CalPERS

CFAC v. CalPERS CFAC successfully sued CALPERS, California’s public employee retirement system, to force it to disclose the management fees it pays to venture capital, private equity, and hedge funds in which CALPERS invests. Because of its huge size, CALPERS is the de facto standard-setter for the pension industry nationally. When CALPERS settled CFAC’s suit, agreeing to most of the fee disclosures CFAC had sought, public pension plans across the country followed suit. Legal Documents

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CFAC v. Santa Clara

CFAC v. Santa Clara County Decisions Legal Documents Press Releases In the news Decisions May 18, 2007 California Superior Court rules in favor of CFAC Legal briefs and other major pleadings (by date) California 6th Appellate Court of Appeals April 11, 2008 CFAC ‘Return’ – Main Merits Brief on Appeal July 5, 2007 Santa Clara Reply to Preliminary Opposition June 25, 2007 CFAC Preliminary Opposition to the Appeal June 12, 2007 Santa Clara Appeal –

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A&A: Private institutions, public funds and the CPRA

Q: If a private institution such as university or college receives public and private funding for research, can a member of the public get access to records that pertain only to publicly funded research? A: Generally speaking, private universities are not subject to the PRA.  The PRA applies to the public records of state or local agencies.  Under certain circumstances outlined in section 54952(c) of the Brown Act (incorporated into the PRA by section 6252

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Federal judge rules suit can proceed over government lawyer’s torture justifications

Federal judge rules suit can proceed over government lawyer’s torture justifications A U.S. district judge said a convicted terrorist Jose Padilla could sue Bush administration lawyer John Woo for memos that argued that certain rough treatment did not constitute torture. -DB San Francisco Chronicle June 13, 2009 By Bob Egelko A prisoner who says he was tortured while being held for nearly four years as a suspected terrorist can sue former Bush administration lawyer John

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