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Judge orders release of SF Ethics Comm’n docs, despite claim of attorney privilege

[…] privilege applied because the documents consisted of communications between his and the city attorney's offices. Plaintiff Allen Grossman, a San Francisco resident and long-time activist for open government, noted that Sunshine Ordinance Sec. 67.24(b)(1)(iii) establishes disclosability of city attorney's advice regarding city and state open-meetings and public-records laws and ethics codes. Though the Sunshine […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
November 1, 2013
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How FAC Fights for Police Transparency

Democracy depends on accountability. Transparency is the oxygen of accountability. That is why California law requires access to government records unless they fall within specific exceptions from disclosure. The public has a special interest in disclosure about law enforcement. As the California Legislature has declared, officers are vested with "extraordinary authority — the powers […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
August 9, 2023
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Google’s purchase of Motorola shows dangers of out-of-control patent litigation

[…] growth and job growth is huge. Politicians and economists, particularly of the Republican variety, have been quick to blame the US economy's slow pace of recovery on government uncertainty--uncertainty about the impact on businesses of new federal initiatives (particularly, the Obama administration's healthcare program), tax policy, and environmental regulations. They should be expressing similar […]

August 16, 2011
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FAC News Press Release

Former FAC Executive Director Peter Scheer Awarded Society of Professional Journalists Career Achievement Prize

[…] in which FAC brought a number of groundbreaking cases to preserve and expand the public’s right to know. His work led to the disclosure of countless once-secret government records, including the management fees paid by CALPERS, California’s public-employee retirement system, to private equity and hedge funds; memos by the United States Department of Justice […]

February 22, 2017
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For Google, Facebook et al, the best defense against NSA surveillance is not legal reform, but technology that forces the agency to come through the “front door”

[…] NSA and wants to see its activities curbed. Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, nerds and Luddites, all share a high level of discomfort about the federal government gaining access to their personal information stored on the servers of Google, Facebook, Yahoo and others. But here's the question: If we object to NSA's use […]

January 7, 2014
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First Amendment travesties far and near

[…] of the world. Am I the only one to see the irony here? Suppressing calls for boycotts or other demonstrations, ostensibly to protect against challenges to a government's legitimacy, is akin to shutting down a university in order to counter an assault on academic freedom, or canceling an election to thwart threats to democracy. […]

July 12, 2011
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FAC News Press Release

First Amendment Coalition Awarded $500,000 to Bolster Leadership and Build Capacity Infrastructure

[…] portfolio of "Sunrise Grants," totaling over $10 Million in investment to grassroots-based organizations in California's Central Valley. The individual investment will help support FAC’s mission of advancing government transparency and accountability and strengthening and protecting our First Amendment rights. "We are so honored to receive this generous and extended support, which will do so […]

March 31, 2023
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FAC’s Peter Scheer to speak at May 8 public records litigation seminar

[…] take before bringing a lawsuit in a public records case? This question will be the focus of discussion for FAC Executive Director Peter Scheer and other top government-access legal specialists participating in the Public Records Act Litigation Seminar, Wed., May 8 in San Francisco. The seminar is designed for public and private attorneys who […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
April 26, 2013
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Cases Press Release

FAC, ACLU Sue for Public Access to Kern County Superior Court

[…] against Kern County Superior Court officials for denying access to court proceedings in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. (Read more about FAC's open- government advocacy amid the COVID-10 crisis.) The suit comes at a time when many businesses in Kern County, including bowling alleys and hair salons, have been permitted […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
June 26, 2020
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FAC News Press Release

FAC Welcomes Two California Attorneys to Board of Directors

[…] own practice, Douglas was the managing attorney at the Law Offices of Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr., where he coordinated O.J. Simpson’s defense. He started his career in government service, working first with the Federal Communications Commission and then as a federal public defender in L.A. Douglas earned his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and […]

November 14, 2022