News & Opinion

The Virginia Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision that the University of Virginia did not have to release the e-mails of climate scientist Michael Mann formerly a professor at the university. The lower court had ruled that the e-mails were of a “proprietary” nature and thereby exempt from disclosure under the state’s Freedom of Information Act. (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, April 17 2014, by Emily Grannis) The Supreme Court said that

The U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to throw out an Ohio law banning lies during election campaigns. An anti-abortion group sued in federal court on the grounds that the law chills free speech. Those found guilty of violating the law could pay a fine of $5,000 and six months in jail. Justices seemed unimpressed by the Ohio state officials’ arguments that allegations of chill did not trump the harm done by “malicious falsity.”(Cleveland Plain Dealer,

The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ordered the unsealing of a consumer safety case that a manufacturer claimed would damage its reputation and “fiscal health.” The court held that the public’s right to know outweighed the company’s concerns. (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, April 17, 2014, by Jamie Schuman) In 2012 a federal district judge ordered the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) not to publish a product safety complaint against the manufacturer

National Security Director Jame Clapper has banned federal intelligence employees from discussing any contact with reporters even if the matter is unclassified. Those violating the rules would lose their security clearances or jobs and be prosecuted if discussing classified information. (McClatchyDC, April 21, 2014, by Jonathan S. Landay) First revealed by Steven Aftergood of Secrecy News, April 21, 2014, Clapper’s  memo requires authorization for any contact with the media and asks for reports on “unplanned

A New York federal appeals court ruled that given the federal government’s public statements and release of a white paper on the issue, it had waived its right to keep secret a Justice Department memo justifying the targeted killing of a U.S. citizen in a drone strike in 2011. The New York Times and the American Civil Liberties Union had sued for the release of the memo. (The New York Times, April 21, 2014, by