The First Amendment Coalition offers an incredibly useful and FREE legal consultation service. FAC’s Legal Hotline, available on our website, is staffed by top media lawyers who will answer your questions about freedom-of-information, open-meeting laws, First Amendment protections for journalists, bloggers and ordinary citizens, and other open-government issues.
I’m writing because FAC wants you to use this completely FREE service. FAC is a nonprofit. Our Legal Hotline service is made possible by grants from the McCormick, Knight, CS and Central Valley Foundations, as well as individuals who contribute generously to FAC.
When a government agency refuses to disclose public records, or a city council deliberates secretly on issues that should be aired in public, or a police officer forbids the videotaping of an arrest, you are not powerless. Use the free Hotline service on FAC’s website for an expert analysis of your issue and to find our what your options are. If the matter is urgent, you can call us directly (at 415.460.5060).
Here are some examples of recent questions submitted to the Hotline and the answers given by FAC’s lawyers at Holmes Roberts & Owen (a national law firm with offices in San Francisco):
- Are emails between elected officials public records?
- Do open-meeting laws bar a candidates’ forum?
- Can local governments negotiate with unions in secret?
You’ll also find a searchable archive of more than 1,000 authoritative answers by FAC’s lawyers responding to previous Hotline users. This feature, called Asked & Answered, is a vital legal resource that you can consult again and again.
The Legal Hotline is not new. We’ve provided the public with answers to access law questions for more than 20 years. But the need today is greater than ever. Financially-strapped news organizations are no longer able to dispatch lawyers to vindicate the “people’s right to know.” The role of the Hotline is to legally empower citizens and journalists of all kinds to stand as a counterweight to government secrecy.
To make a long story short, we want you to take advantage of us, to pick the brains of our First Amendment experts, and, armed with a better understanding of your legal rights (and citations to relevant legal authorities), to push back effectively against recalcitrant government officials.
FAC is an advocate for free speech and access to government, but to succeed we have to connect our know-how with your need-to-know. So, use our free Hotline service.