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Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Do Public Comments Have to be Taken into Consideration

Are legislative bodies required to consider written material presented by the public, during an open hearing not officially called a "public hearing", prior to making a judgment? A county agency heard public comments on an agenda item, was presented with a petition from 29 neighbors requesting a public hearing, didn't read the petition or […]

June 14, 2009
Latest News

Press Release

FAC Prompts Disclosure of California Governor Jerry Brown’s Social Media ‘Block Lists’

The First Amendment Coalition today released documents from California Governor Jerry Brown showing that he blocked more than 1,500 individual accounts on his Twitter and Facebook accounts--a practice that excluded those people from participating in a vital forum for political discussion and debate surrounding the state’s highest elected official. In releasing the documents to […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
- Public Records
September 27, 2017
Posts

First Amendment Press Rights

FAC Urges Court to Reject Attorney’s Attempt to Censor Vallejo News Site

[…] endangering another officer during a shooting that killed 20-year-old Willie McCoy, a Black man who was asleep in his car in a Taco Bell drive-through when police opened fire. When seeking comment for the story, the Vallejo Sun contacted McMahon's attorney, Lenore Albert, who refused to comment and warned Morris not to publish the […]
- Press Freedom
January 27, 2024
Latest News

Conservatives’ faith in local government is misplaced: The closer government is to the people, the more government is controlled by special interests.

[…] al). Washington may have the highest concentration of lobbyists in the world, but their comings and goings are observed by the largest concentration of national and international news media in the world. In Sacramento, by contrast, the press corps, never big in the best of times, has been decimated by cutbacks in staffing levels […]

May 3, 2012
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Public Comment Limits Don’t Allow Time To Make Case

[…] even when making a case that disagrees with what staff is recommending. They are not very nice about this severe limit. I am the president of the local taxpayers association, and I often present input from many others, rather than require each of them to participate. Is this practice of limiting the public’s participation appropriate?

May 29, 2010
Asked and Answered

CPRA

Accessing Field Interrogation Cards

I work for a law enforcement agency. I have been requested by a property management security company to search our database for all events and contacts pertaining to an individual who is a transient and a nuisance to their complex. The security company is in the process of obtaining a "Stay Away Order" and […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

CPRA Police Records

Writer denied access to coroner’s report on 1947 Black Dahlia case

[…] in California in 1947. I have asked the LAPD for its file on this case, which has been refused under section 6254(f) of the CPRA. The FBI and DA have disclosed their files on the case (the FBI with heavy redactions).The LA County Coroner's Office refuses to disclose the coroner's report pursuant to a […]

June 10, 2015
Asked and Answered

Newsgathering

Can newspaper publish captured police-scanner audio of gunfight?

[…] the gunfight between Sheriff’s deputies and Chris Dorner--the ex-LAPD police officer and former United States Navy reservist who was charged in connection with a series of shooting attacks on police officers. We recalled a challenge to being able to post such information in the past. Is it legal/defensible for a newspaper to publish this information?

May 7, 2013
Posts

FAC Opposes Bill that Could Hinder Public Access to Meetings

FAC joined a coalition of civic groups to oppose California Assembly Bill 361, which would allow local governments to operate with less openness and evade transparency requirements of the Brown Act during a locally declared emergency. Read our coalition's letter in opposition to AB 361. Track AB 361.
- Government Transparency and Accountability
- Public Meetings
April 2, 2021
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Filing a Vacancy by Closed Session Appointment

[…] hours prior to the beginning of the School Board meeting. The appointment decision was made at that meeting. Should the agenda state the names of the applicants who were interviewed during the meeting? If a public citizen asked to see the application material and was turned down, is that a violation of the Brown Act?

June 14, 2009