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Free speech: Los Angeles policeman posts photo of dead boy on Twitter

donal brown October 24, 2011

When a Los Angeles police detective posted a photo of a murder victim on Twitter, questions arose about the propriety of the post and the policeman’s free speech rights. Even though the Los Angeles Police Department does not have a policy on the use of social media, they asked the detective to forego posting details about his investigations. -db From a commentary for Suffolk Media Law, October 22, 2011, by Brian Lynch. Full story

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California: Sebastopol hospital board cautioned about open meeting violations

donal brown October 24, 2011

With two vacancies on the five-member board, the Palm Drive Hospital board is facing allegations that it violated California’s open meeting laws in meetings involving two directors. Seventy-two hour notice was not provided for meetings to review proposals to join with other hospitals. -db From The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, October 20, 201, by Bob Norberg. Full story

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A&A: Law unclear on collecting signatures on private property in California

FAC October 24, 2011

Q: As a professional signature gatherer for over a decade, it seems that California remains in a legal gray area regarding my right to petition California ballot initiatives on private property. However, there have been a couple rulings that have not upheld the historic Pruneyard case regarding locations like Target and Walmart. Furthermore, Target has ignored the recent San Diego ruling and has continued to have petitioners arrested in the L.A. area. This is an

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A&A: Is it legal to charge fees for viewing a transcript?

FAC October 21, 2011

Q: My organization is being charged a fee to view parole hearing transcripts–not copy; simply view. We are also told we will be charged to view the complete parole board’s response to a public hearing. We would like an opinion on the legality of this policy A: It sounds like you know that under the Public Records Act, “[p]ublic records are open to inspection at all times during the office hours of the state or

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Obama administration wants to open old grand jury records

donal brown October 20, 2011

The Justice Department is proposing a rule change to allow disclosure of transcripts from grand jury proceedings at least 30 years old if it would not affect a living witness or investigative target. Attorney General Eric Holder is also suggesting that historically significant transcripts of at least 75 years old be released without court review. -db From The New York Times, October 19, 2011, by Charlie Savage. Full story

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