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Are Myths Killing the Newspaper Business?

[…] cards. Q. That’s it? A. No. There’re a couple of other things that come out of my years as a lawyer for news organizations. I don’t think government financial support for journalism is a good idea, but there are some government actions that might ease somewhat the pressure on newspapers. Here are a few […]

February 24, 2010
Latest News

Cases

Amici Briefs Digest, March 2, 2017

[…] free-speech and media organizations in an amicus brief to the California Supreme Court, arguing that the press and public are entitled to emails or texts relating to government business that are sent by government officials on their personal email accounts or phones. The California Court of Appeal held that such communications are not subject […]
- Government Transparency and Accountability
March 3, 2017
Latest News

Blog

After near-death in Supreme Court, will public employee unions change their ways?

[…] as though there had never been an appeal to the Supreme Court). The issue before the Supreme Court was whether the compulsory funding mechanism common to all government unions--those representing teachers, police, firefighters, prosecutors, and more, both at the state and local levels---was unconstitutional. How so? Because, claimed the teachers, requiring workers to pay […]
- Free Expression
March 30, 2016
Asked and Answered

CPRA Police Records

Accessing police Internal Affairs reports

Government Code Section 6254.7, part of California's Public Records Act, relates to air pollution, housing code violations, and trade secrets, and is probably not the provision you have in mind.Section 6254(f), also part of the PRA, exempts from disclosure most records of investigations conducted by police agencies (see below for text of Section […]

September 20, 2010
Asked and Answered

First Amendment Social Media

Suspended from job for posting negative comment on personal, private Facebook page

The First Amendment acts as a restriction only on the government. It does not restrict the actions of private entities or individuals (except that private individuals and entities may be indirectly limited in that their ability to receive relief from a court will be restricted). Therefore, when a nongovernmental employer takes action against an […]

February 16, 2012
Asked and Answered

CPRA

How does the CPRA deal with emails between elected officials

[…] in electronic or paper form, must be disclosed (unless some exemption applies). If the elected official here was using his personal computer to send emails on his government-issued email account, it probably would not matter on which computer the email was actually generated, since he is still using his government-issued email account to discuss […]

August 21, 2010
Asked and Answered

First Amendment

Are words chosen for tombstone protected speech or can a Public Cemetery District censor them?

[…] the space at issue (in this case, the cemetery), as well as whether the restrictions at issue are content-based or content neutral. As to the "forum" analysis, government property is generally either a public forum, either by tradition or designation (i.e., sidewalks, parks) or a nonpublic forum. In a public forum, conduct is protected […]

October 4, 2011
Asked and Answered

CPRA Police Records

Investigative and disciplinary records pertaining to police officers

[…] that the Act contains an exemption for records of investigations conducted by state or local police agencies, as well as documents in a policy agency's investigatory files.(Cal. Government Code section 6254(f)).In addition, as you may already know, obtaining disciplinary records concerning a police officer is not a simple matter. The Public Records Act provides […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

CPRA

Destruction of public records

[…] context of discussing exemption of particular records, the PRA expressly recognizes that agencies do not retain records indefinitely.See Cal. Gov't Code section 6254(a).Please be aware that California Government Code section 34090 requires the retention of city records less than two years old.After that time period (and unless the records are required to be kept […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

CPRA

Unreasonable Fees for Access

[…] the extent the county is charging fees for copies of those records, any fees beyond the costs of duplication and/or any programming fees that may be allowed pursuant to Government Code section 6253.9(b), the limitations set forth in Government Code sections 54985 and 54986 and described in my earlier email would apply. However, to the extent the […]

June 14, 2009