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Cases

Decades of legal wisdom and experience

FAC’s greatest asset is the legal wisdom and experience accrued over decades of successfully holding governments accountable at the local, state, and federal levels, supporting journalists and educating people on how to enforce their First Amendment and open government rights.

Featured Case

Adams v. County of Sacramento

This amicus brief advocates for a broad definition of “public concern” in the interest of protecting the free speech rights of public employees while still allowing governmental employers to consider the impact of the speech on the workplace.

  • First Amendment Coalition v. Chiu

    FAC and its partners are challenging a California statute that authorizes city attorneys, district attorneys, and the Attorney General to seek civil penalties against anyone who publishes any information related to a sealed arrest record, regardless of how the information was acquired or how newsworthy it is.

  • Doe v. Mill Valley School District

    FAC is representing Holly McDede, a freelance reporter, in a lawsuit that seeks to prevent the release of documents covered by the California Public Records Act (“CPRA”), also known as a “reverse-CPRA” case. McDede covers sexual misconduct in schools, and has previously written about other school employees’ misconduct.

  • Garcia v. County of Alameda

    FAC represents Jose Fermoso, a reporter for The Oaklandside, in a challenge to Alameda County’s sideshow spectator ordinance that criminalizes journalism by making it unlawful to observe a sideshow from any closer than 200 feet.

  • Shelton v. Napa Valley Unified School District

    Representing freelance reporter Holly McDede, FAC filed a motion to intervene in Shelton v. Napa Valley Unified School District, a “reverse CPRA” lawsuit that seeks to prevent the release of public records regarding a former public school teacher’s alleged sexual abuse of students.

  • FCI Dublin Motion to Unseal

    FAC joined freelance journalist Victoria Law, nonprofit news organization The Appeal, and the ACLU of Northern California in moving to unseal court records and preserve public access to hearings in the landmark class action lawsuit that survivors of sexual assault at FCI Dublin brought against the federal Bureau of Prisons in 2023. CLOSED