More on Josh Wolf Scheer’s column on the denouement of Josh Wolf’s case, published as an Op-Ed in the San Francisco Chronicle, brought this response from Sarah Phelan writing in the Bay Guardian: Who blinked? Josh Wolf is out of the clink, but the debate about why he was freed continues Listen to the Stanford Current’s interview with Scheer on Stanford radio. And here’s Wolf’s reply to the interview.
Blogger-Journalist Josh Wolf must be the first journalist to go to jail to protect evidence he didn’t have. By Peter Scheer That journalist Josh Wolf is out of jail is a good thing. No 24-year-old should rot in jail for seven and a half months–the longest incarceration of a journalist in American history–for doing what he thinks is right (even if he’s wrong). But now that Wolf’s protracted legal battle is finally and thankfully over,
A California Perspective on AG Alberto Gonzales’ Problems By Peter Scheer The spectacle of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales twisting in the wind, struggling to explain one misstatement after another about the purge of eight US Attorneys, presents a number of ironies, especially to observers in California. For starters there’s Congress’ feigned dismay in discovering that federal prosecutors are subject to political pressures in their handling of cases that are of interest to members of Congress.
2007 Open Government Legislation By Nick Rahaim The 2007 Legislative session looks promising for open government advocates. Some bills seek to resurrect legislation that was defeated or vetoed in the last Legislative session. Other bills seek to overturn recent judicial rulings that are hostile to access rights. New bills would also streamline the California Public Records Act and to shed light on two of California’s more secretive government institutions: The UC Regents and police departments.
Celebrate Sunshine Week in California–Hold Public Officials Accountable for Access to Information By Karl Olson Californians declared by an overwhelming vote two years ago that they have a constitutional right of access to “information concerning the conduct of the people’s business,” including both the meetings and the records of the officials who spend public money. But sometimes those same public officials have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into recognizing that constitutional right. Consider these