FAC conducts a program of strategic litigation by initiating “test case” lawsuits to resolve key legal issues in a way that maximizes chances for a favorable outcome, with potentially far-reaching effects.
On April 23, 2024, Elizabeth Wilson, a student journalist at Mustang News, the student paper at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), sued the university for violating the California Public Records Act by refusing to disclose public records she requested more than 18 months ago. Wilson made
Upneet Dhaliwal and Julie Geary sued the Temecula Valley Unified School District, its Board of Trustees, and its president, Joseph Komrosky, for violating their rights under the First Amendment and California law by ejecting them from school board meetings without cause.
Two Temecula residents sued the Temecula Valley Unified School District, its Board of Trustees, and its president, Joseph Komrosky, for violating their rights under the First Amendment and California law by ejecting them from school board meetings without cause.
On November 15, 2023, the ACLU of Northern California (“ACLU NorCal”) and the First Amendment Coalition (“FAC”) sued the City of Fresno for holding secret budget negotiations in violation of the Brown Act, California’s open meetings law for local governments. The lawsuit asks the court to order Fresno to comply
On February 14, 2019, represented by Michael Risher, the First Amendment Coalition sued the California Attorney General for violating Senate Bill 1421 (“SB 1421”), California’s landmark police transparency law that mandated disclosure of records about police shootings, significant uses of force, and serious forms of misconduct. FAC took legal action
On April 18, 2023, Brian Howey, an Oakland-based investigative journalist, sued the City of Fresno under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) for the city’s refusal to release use-of-force records regarding the 2004 death of Michael Sanders, who was tased 10 times–resulting in multiple puncture wounds and severe burns to