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FAC News

Now Hiring: FAC Senior Staff Attorney / Legal Director

[…] expression, a free press, and government transparency and accountability. A sample of recent highlights from FAC's litigation program include: a precedent-setting public records case enforcing California's landmark police transparency law; a federal civil rights lawsuit against a trial court system that led to greater public access to proceedings amid the pandemic; and a FOIA […]

October 14, 2021
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Blog

New episode of ‘Civic’ podcast features FAC’s David Snyder on press protections at protests

[…] Snyder talks about the important role journalists play in documenting social justice movements, and the alarming frequency with which reporters and photographers faced arrest and injury by police "for just doing their job," as they covered Black Lives Matter protests over the last year. It’s against this backdrop that a bill is being considered […]
- Press Freedom
June 11, 2021
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Blog

Make no mistake, China’s censorship of the internet is a crime against liberty on a mass scale. Still, American firms can’t just steer clear of the world’s biggest market. What to do?

[…] by authorities as a grave threat. The Chinese government’s worst nightmare, after all, is a lone and anonymous Tibetan uploading to YouTube grainy cellphone videos of rioting police. What should American internet companies do? To point out that doing business in China is morally compromising is not to say that companies must forswear the […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
June 3, 2009
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Blog

Leak investigation of Fox News’ Rosen crosses red line by obtaining journalist’s email contents, not just data

[…] cause to believe" that the journalist "has committed . . . the criminal offense to which the materials relate." Non-journalists are generally subject to warrant-based searches by police for evidence of a crime, even though they are not suspected of criminal activities themselves. They are "third-party witnesses" subject to search merely because they have, […]
- Press Freedom
May 29, 2013
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Cases Press Release

L.A. Sheriff Agrees to Unsealing of Warrant to Search Photojournalist and Black Lives Matter Protesters’ Cell Phones

[…] can finally see these documents, they should have been able to do so long ago. There can be no real accountability without knowledge – what did the police tell the judge who issued this warrant? Now this crucial question can be answered, and accountability for any unjustified arrest and seizure can at long last […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
May 23, 2023
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FAC News Press Release

Journalists Thomas Peele & Caroline Titus named 2016 FAC Award Winners

[…] and open government advocate who filed hundreds of public records requests this year to build a database of the 944 weapons lost by or stolen from California police officers in the last six years. With characteristic persistence, Peele, who writes for the Bay Area News Group, had to overcome frequent official resistance to disclosure. […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
November 29, 2016
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Blog Cases

In settlement with FAC, LA County Jail releases inmate visitor log, agrees to relax secrecy rule

[…] interaction than a prison visit," said FAC executive director Peter Scheer. "You have to pass through a metal detector; you're subject to pat-down searches; you're scrutinized by police and other security personnel at every step; and your movements are recorded on video." "Privacy is the last word that comes to mind," Scheer continued. "This […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
December 5, 2013
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Blog

Have a legal question on FOI issues? Ask us. FREE!

[…] 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 […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
August 6, 2011
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Blog

Government officials use personal email and texting to avoid public access laws. Why not use technology to enhance accountability instead of to subvert it?

[…] the point is that the actions of the government’s agents are imputed to the government, and the government is responsible for those actions. An arrest by a police officer, a mayor’s promise to a campaign contributor, a public school teacher’s grading of a student paper--all are actions of and by the government entity that […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
August 22, 2009
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FAC News Press Release

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

[…] to admissions records of the California State Bar. Other FAC lawsuits filed under the CPRA resulted in disclosure of records about: high-tech surveillance devices used by local police; calendars of the governor and the governor’s top aides; government officials’ use of private email accounts to avoid disclosure of public records; names of visitors to […]

February 22, 2017