News & Opinion

A federal district judge is allowing a suit to proceed pitting a online news photographer against the town officials of Cumming, Georgia over her right to videotape a city council meeting. The photographer, Nydia Tisdale, claims her rights were violated when the police seized her camera and used force to remove her from the meeting. (Daily Report, October 6, 2014, by R. Robin McDonald) The judge affirmed Tisdale’s First Amendment right to record the meeting

A federal judge ruled that police in Ferguson, Missouri could not employ the “5 second rule,” limiting the time protesters could remain in one place or be arrested. “The practice of requiring peaceful demonstrators and others to walk, rather than stand still, violates the constitution,” U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Perry wrote. (The Washington Post, October 6, 2014, by Wesley Lowery) Perry also wrote that the police could act to disperse those who endanger the

In a victory for open government, a superior court judge ruled that the Redlands Unified School District had violation the California Public Records Act in charging too much to view records. The district charges 25 cents a page to copy records. A parent of a special ed student complained that the charge for documents she requested would amount to $2,795. (Redlands Daily, October 4, 2014, by Greg Cappis, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin) The California Senate

Restrictions on door-to-door canvassing violate the First Amendment ruled a federal judge in throwing out a Yorktown, Indiana law. The judge said the law was not confined to serve safety and privacy interests while still providing for other means of expression. (American Civil Liberties Union, October 2, 2014, press release) The ruling came at the request of the Citizens Action Coalition, a nonprofit that protested the town’s fees and rules barring canvassing before 9 a.m.