News & Opinion

A federal judge for the District of Columbia ruled that the FBI failed to follow Justice Department guidelines in 2019 when they questioned freelance reporter Bryan Carmody during a raid of his home. The Reporters Committee had filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to find out the details of FBI involvement in the raid. (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, November 15, 2021, by Chris Young) For related FAC coverage, click here, here

Michelle Goldberg of The New York Times, November 12, 2021, reports a dramatic increase of censorship in U.S. schools and libraries this year partly fueled by fears of marginalized groups about critical race theory. “This spreading moral panic [among the marginalized] demonstrates, yet again, why the left needs the First Amendment,” writes Goldberg, “even if the veneration of free speech has fallen out fashion among some progressives. Absent a societal commitment to free expression, the

San Diego County supervisors stiffened their policies on public participation at meetings after a citizen said he wanted three supervisors dead and hurled a racial slur at a county public health officer. (Times of San Diego, November 10, 2021, by Elizabeth Ireland) The San Diego Project for Open Government took exception to the new policies, promising litigation if the council failed to make changes, particularly to the limits in minutes allowed speakers at board meetings.