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Water district, in settlement with FAC, agrees to disclose water usage by corporations

[…] name, credit history, utility usage data, home address, or telephone number of utility customers of local agencies . . ." FAC, in its lawsuit, argued that this exemption is limited to residential customers, while information about corporate customers must be made public. "We’re very pleased that the Desert Water Agency, reversing course, has agreed […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
October 30, 2014
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US Supreme Court ‘government speech’ rulings should curb government misuse of anti-SLAPP laws

[…] plate program, which allows individuals and organizations to request an image or slogan on their license plates. A nonprofit group, availing itself of the program, sought approval for a plate with a Confederate Battle flag. Texas said no, explaining the plate would be viewed as "offensive." The nonprofit sued, arguing the denial of its […]
- Free Expression
December 22, 2015
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US releases to FAC new legal memo on 2010 killing of Anwar al-Awlaki. Here’s our analysis.

[…] memo is posted below. The newly released memo, dated February 19, 2010, was provided to FAC in connection with our ongoing FOIA lawsuit against the Justice Department for access to all legal memos on the Awlaki killing. The administration had previously released a longer legal memo, dated July 10, 2010, on the same subject […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
August 15, 2014
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Blog Cases

The ongoing push for police transparency

[…] criminal charges against several law enforcement officers. In refusing to disclose any records except complaints filed in court, the District Attorney improperly relied on the "investigatory files" exemption from disclosure. Although that exemption may apply to other records, SB 1421 and SB 16 specifically reject it for the records covered by those laws. We […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
May 18, 2022
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The “deliberative process privilege” is dead or, at best, on life support

[…] calendar of business meetings. Their reliance is misplaced, however. The Times Mirror decision is a textbook case of judicial activism run amok. Unable to find an applicable exemption in the state Public Records Act, the Court concocted a new one, ruling that the governor could not be forced to disclose records that would reveal […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
June 2, 2009
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Supreme Court’s much-maligned First Amendment decision will, in fact, expand freedom of speech

[…] economy where, for better or worse, most industries enjoy direct or indirect government subsidies. In the media industry, for example, traditional newspapers are subsidized through sales tax exemptions and restrictions on competition for legal notices; television and radio are subsidized through the federal government's decision to give away scarce spectrum space; the internet is […]
- Free Expression
April 5, 2010
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Press Release

FAC to Intervene in Lawsuit that Attempts to Prohibit Disclosure of Public Records

Reporter Seeks Records Regarding Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Students by a Public School Teacher FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: [email protected] SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The First Amendment Coalition has filed a motion to intervene in Shelton v. Napa Valley Unified School District, a "reverse CPRA" lawsuit that seeks to prevent the release of public […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
May 9, 2024
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Shame on Inglewood. Using copyright as a muzzle, the city files suit to censor a local critic

[…] the PRA would be meaningless, since local governments and agencies could assert copyright over any records they don’t want to disclose, regardless of the availability of PRA exemptions. Copyrights, because they impose restrictions on expression, are in tension with the first amendment’s protection for free speech. We nonetheless have copyrights (in fact, they are […]
- Free Expression
May 29, 2015
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Cases Press Release

Public Citizen and CFAC seek to overturn court orders shuttering wikileaks.org

[…] by (among others), the Los Angeles Times, Hearst Corporation (publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle), Gannett Co., Inc., the Associated Press, E.W. Scripps Co., the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Citizen Media Law Project. Many of the documents posted on Wikileaks are aimed at exposing unethical behavior in governments and corporations […]
- Free Expression
June 3, 2009
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Cases Press Release

Police Failed to Tell Judge of Bryan Carmody’s Status as Journalist Before Obtaining Warrant, Unsealed Records Show

Police failed to tell the judge who issued a search warrant for Bryan Carmody’s phone that Carmody is a journalist, records unsealed today show—a key omission that helps explain how the San Francisco Police Department was able to obtain warrants for Carmody’s phone, home and office in clear violation of California and federal law. […]
- Press Freedom
July 23, 2019