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Press Release

Reporter Sues Alameda County for Sideshow Law That Criminalizes Journalism

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: [email protected] SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Today, Oaklandside reporter Jose Antonio Garcia sued Alameda County in federal court over its Ordinance 2023-31, which criminalizes merely being present within 200 feet of a "sideshow" for the purpose of observing it. This law has prevented Garcia, who writes using another family name, […]
- Press Freedom
July 2, 2024
Posts

FAC Supports AB 339’s Open Meeting Provisions

April 1, 2021
Posts

FAC Opposes Legislation that Would Weaken Public Oversight of Government Officials in California

[…] laws under the guise of increasing remote access to meetings. The most problematic provisions undermine the democratic values of open government and oversight of our public institutions for the convenience of politicians — allowing public officials to do the public’s business from private locations that are neither identified nor accessible to the public. And […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
May 13, 2022
Cases

Public Records

San José Spotlight v. City of San José

This case challenged the withholding of texts and emails on former San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo’s personal accounts that were used to conduct city business. CLOSED
- Government Transparency and Accountability
July 19, 2023
Cases

Public Records

City of Gilroy v. Superior Court

In City of Gilroy v. Superior Court, the Court of Appeal held that trial courts lack the authority to hold public agencies accountable for violations of the California Public Records Act beyond ordering the disclosure of specific records. According to this decision, a court could not mandate remedies if an agency failed to conduct […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
December 20, 2023
Posts

FAC Condemns Sacramento Police Department’s Flawed Media Policy

[…] contrast, a draft that the media organizations proposed to the police department during negotiations last year afforded greater protection to journalists covering demonstrations: it spelled out an exemption for media representatives when officers close a disaster area, and clarified legal protections for journalists’ newsgathering materials. That thenew Sacramento policyshields police from public scrutiny is […]
- Press Freedom
July 23, 2020
Posts

FAC Urges California Highway Patrol to Release Public Records Relating to 2016 California State Capitol Violence

[…] public records it has refused to disclose regarding the violent clashes at the California State Capitol on June 26, 2016. The letter also calls CHP to task for the apparent use of a public records request as a bargaining chip in witness interviews for an ongoing criminal investigation. As disclosed in a transcript filed […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
February 16, 2018
Posts

First Amendment

FAC Calls on Governor to Sign Bill Strengthening Press Protections at Protests

[…] SB 16 would expand on 2019's landmark police transparency law, SB 1421, which made certain categories of police personnel records accessible under the California Public Records Act for the first time in decades. Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies and labor unions took advantage of ambiguities in SB 1421 to stifle access to critical information. SB […]
September 30, 2021
Posts

Shasta News Outlets, FAC, and ACLU Demand Shasta County Repeal Unlawful Public Records Act Fee Ordinance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 20, 2023 Contact: [email protected] SAN RAFAEL — The First Amendment Coalition and ACLU of Northern California, along with news outlets Shasta Scout and the Record Searchlight, today called on Shasta County to repeal an ordinance that imposes unlawful fees for public records that can run into the thousands of […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
September 20, 2023
Posts

Legislature approves FAC-sponsored bill on cell phone privacy. Will Brown sign it?

[…] the Assembly in August. Police ordinarily have authority, following an arrest, to conduct a search--without a warrant--of the person arrested and materials and containers in his possession-- for example, a wallet, any weapons, or a cigarette pack. SB 914 alters this rule for "portable electronic devices" because of the volume and sensitivity of personal […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
September 2, 2011