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Justice Roberts Saved the Supreme Court — Here’s What He Needs to Do Next

[…] (in the good sense of the word). Most Americans, when they think of public or elected officials, have in mind a legislative whorehouse in which special interest agendas and political expediency always prevail. Principles are irrelevant. Policies are irrelevant. And the public interest, particularly at the state level, is an alien concept. Cameras in […]

July 11, 2012
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Blog Cases

Judge plugs ‘private email’ loophole in CA public records law

[…] it purely personal? — not the technology." (Read More) Judge plugs 'private email' loophole in CA public records law (March 20, 2013) Peter Scheer--In a big victory for open government, a Superior Court judge in San Jose has ruled that the state's Public Records Act applies to government officials' emails and texts about government […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
March 20, 2013
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Cases Press Release

Journalist Sues City of Fresno for Withholding Public Records About Taser Use that Caused Severe Burns

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 21, 2023 Contact: [email protected] SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Brian Howey, an Oakland-based investigative journalist, has 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 death of Michael Sanders, who was tased multiple times by Fresno police […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
April 21, 2023
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Press Release

Joint Statement from FAC and EFF on DOJ Leaks Investigations

Jeff Sessions’ Statement About Leak Investigations Raises Deeply Disturbing Issues For Journalists, Transparency Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement today that the Department of Justice has tripled its number of "active leak investigations" in the past six months, and that DOJ is "reviewing policies affecting media subpoenas" raised serious red flags for journalists, their sources, […]
- Press Freedom
August 4, 2017
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Blog

If China unplugs Google, it will be the first time China’s people will know what they are not being allowed to see. This should give the censors pause.

[…] google.com.hk. China's censors now face a difficult choice. They could move quickly to block access, within China, to the Hong Kong site. This is not a problem for them technically: China's internet "firewall" routinely blocks access to Google-owned Youtube, to Twitter, Wickipedia and many other sites deemed a potential threat to the government's capacity […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
March 24, 2010
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Blog

Gmail Nation: The Privatization of Public Records and Public Access

[…] otherwise public records by simply using Gmail. And yet the law has been surprisingly slow to recognize this principle. Private email accounts have been in widespread use for almost two decades now, and we know that for just as long government officials have been using such accounts to transact public business. If the timing […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
April 25, 2017
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Cases Press Release

Former San Jose Mayor Must Show His Text and Email Search Complied with Public Records Law

In a lawsuit filed by San José Spotlight and the First Amendment Coalition against San José and its then-mayor, Sam Liccardo, for full disclosure of how much he was doing public business on private devices and accounts, the trial court recently issued a decision ordering Liccardo and a city staff member to show how […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
July 20, 2023
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FAC News Press Release

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

[…] Peter Scheer has been named the 2017 recipient of the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists’ career achievement award--a signal honor marking his advocacy, over many years, for free speech, a free press and the public’s right to know. Scheer, 65, will accept the Norwin S. Yoffie Award for Career Achievement on March 22 […]

February 22, 2017
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For the Supreme Court’s decision NOT to rule on the constitutionality of gay marriage, you can blame Jerry Brown

[…] this outcome, resulting from a political miscalculation by Jerry Brown, was predictable and predicted. In this 2010 article in the Huffington Post, I criticized then-Attorney General Brown for his announced decision NOT to defend Prop 8 in the federal appellate courts . I said his absence from the litigation could cause the otherwise promising […]

June 26, 2013
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Blog

Feedback from recent column, “Snowden Go Home”

I recently wrote that Edward Snowden should return to the US and face trial for his revelations about NSA surveillance. ("Snowden Go Home"). The longer Snowden is a fugitive (particularly in Vladimir Putin's Russia), the harder it is to characterize his conduct--obtaining and disclosing classified records by the gigabyte--as an act of conscience. In […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
August 15, 2014