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Asked and Answered

CPRA

How Can I Access Records From The California Department of Corrections Regarding High-Profile Offenders?

I need to obtain information from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) regarding several high-profile offenders, some of whom are deceased, for a project I am doing on several high-profile murder cases. All of the offenders are or were on Death Row at one point in time and several are deceased. What […]

September 21, 2021
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Did the Board chair violate the Brown Act by refusing public comment, holding a closed session?

[…] a specific past action, Cal. Gov. Code § 54960.1 provides the mechanism for bringing such a challenge, which includes a demand to the Board that it " cure and correct" the violation before filing a lawsuit. If action was taken based on improper procedure, the way to remedy the violation would typically be to […]

August 4, 2020
Asked and Answered

Brown Act First Amendment

Bundling agenda action items silences public input

[…] note, however, that the Brown Act imposes fairly strict requirements on the enforcement of the Brown Act, including deadlines for taking certain necessary actions.Notice and demand to cure and correct a violation must be given, in writing, within 90 days from the date the action was taken, or 30 days if the basis for […]

September 17, 2010
Asked and Answered

Brown Act School Records

Right to Videotape School Board Meetings

[…] is available at http://www.cfac.org/Law/BrownAct/Text/ba_text.html.) If the board refuses to comply with the Brown Act, the Act provides the following remedies: (1) to demand that the school district cure and correct the violation, and if they do not then sue to have the action taken at an illegal meeting set aside; or (2) simply sue […]

June 14, 2009
Posts

FAC Urges Mendocino County to Adhere to First Amendment Protections in Establishing Media Program for PRA Requests

Read FAC’s August 29 Letter to Mendocino County Officials We are urging Mendocino County officials to adhere to First Amendment protections in establishing its media program to offset new fees the county has imposed for copies of records requested under the California Public Records Act. The letter follows Mendocino County’s passage of an ordinance […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
- Public Records
August 30, 2022
Asked and Answered

CPRA

Non-Response to Requests

I sent a Freedom of Information Act Request to the California Department of Corrections trying to obtain information related to my position there. It was an information act using the form letter making a state (not federal) request. The request was sent by certified mail and they did not respond. What should I do […]

June 14, 2009
Latest News

Cases Press Release

FAC Demands Investigation, Return of Equipment After Photojournalist Arrested

[…] post has been updated with the latest developments in the Jeremy Portje matter. First Amendment Coalition and the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter sent a letter today to Marin County and Sausalito city officials warning of potential violations of federal and state law in the arrest of journalist Jeremy Portje last week. […]
- Press Freedom
December 8, 2021
Asked and Answered

Bagley-Keene Act Brown Act

Closed meeting and the Brown Act

I'm thinking about writing a letter of cure/correct regarding a pattern of what appear to be Brown Act Violations. The district acted to correct the June 19 violation. According to a story we published previewing a meeting this past Tuesday, July 3: "After closed session on Tuesday, the board is scheduled to convene in […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

Brown Act First Amendment

Non-English Speaking Participants at City Council Meetings

[…] Council Meetings, either because of the language barrier or because they have to be at work at the same times meetings are held. If my neighbors write letters in Spanish, am I allowed to read and translate these letters for the public record? Would that count as "my three minutes of time" or my […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

First Amendment

Can a newspaper be sued for the content of a letter to the editor?

I am a owner and publisher of a local community newspaper. We printed a letter to the editor that named a person in the community and mentioned their family in regards to legal matters and other issues they were dealing with. Now the person the letter referenced is suing my newspaper, claiming defamation of character. Not […]

August 14, 2015