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Brown Act

Regulations on public comment

[…] ordinance, resolution or formal action of a legislative body. Generally, this is the case regardless of whether the body is permanent or temporary, advisory or decision-making. However, Government Code section 54952(b) exempts advisory committees that are comprised solely of less than a quorum of the members of the legislative body that created them. This […]

June 14, 2009
Asked and Answered

CPRA School Records

Accessing university’s decision making on promotions and tenure

UCLA is subject to California's open records law, the Public Records Act, Government Code § 6250 et seq. Under the Act, records that are "prepared, owned, used, or retained" by a public agency are presumptively subject to disclosure, unless some exemption applies. Gov't Code § 6252(e). This would include, presumptively, records related to a […]

June 9, 2015
Asked and Answered

Brown Act CPRA

Can we compel our non-profit hospital to share financial information with the community?

[…] is up to the directors to insist that staff provide this information. Bryan Cave LLP is general counsel for the First Amendment Coalition and responds to First Amendment Coalition hotline inquiries. In responding to these inquiries, we can give general information regarding open government and speech issues but cannot provide specific legal advice or representation.

October 21, 2013
Asked and Answered

What can be done about the California Legislature keeping the public out of the Capitol during COVID-19 pandemic?

[…] fruit. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is general counsel for the First Amendment Coalition and responds to FAC hotline inquiries. In responding to these inquiries, we can give general information regarding open government and speech issues but cannot provide specific legal advice or representation. No attorney-client relationship has been formed by way of this response.

July 1, 2020
Asked and Answered

First Amendment Social Media

The mayor blocked people on Facebook after they posted comments in support of Black Lives Matter. Is that illegal?

Blocking users from social media profiles has become a troubling trend amongst government officials nationwide, and the courts have not yet come to a consensus on how the First Amendment applies. As you may have heard, a federal court in New York found that President Trump’s blocking of certain followers on Twitter was a […]

June 6, 2020
Asked and Answered

Newsgathering

Newspaper Facing Possible Retaliation Over Reporting On Local Scandal Involving City Hall

"The First Amendment protects newspapers from retaliation by government agencies on account of articles or views that the newspapers have published (or intend to publish)," Alameda Newspapers, Inc. v. City of Oakland, 95 F.3d 1406, 1421 (9th Cir. 1996), but probably does not allow a newspaper to sue over a city’s pressuring residents in […]

April 27, 2022
Asked and Answered

Court Records First Amendment

Can a Newspaper Be Held Liable For How it Described Court Documents in a Story?

[…] and proceedings, such as court records, via the "fair report privilege," which is codified at Cal. Civ. Code § 47(d). The privilege generally applies to publicly available government records, official government reports, and statements made by government officials, and provides an absolute privilege where the reporting is a "fair and true" report of court […]

October 30, 2020
Asked and Answered

First Amendment Social Media

I Have Been Blocked from My State Senator’s Instagram Account. What Can I Do?

My state senator has blocked me from making comments or accessing his Instagram account, which is his official Instagram account for the Office of State Senator, and it is clearly a violation of First Amendment rights as a government official, and I need help getting them to reverse the action or sue this senator.

March 27, 2020
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Does the Brown Act Allow Consultant’s Report Reviewed in Closed Sessions?

[…] § 54957.7. In a separate provision, the Brown Act bars an agency from discussing or taking any action on an item not appearing on the posted agenda. Government Code § 54954.2(a), (b). Moreover, Government Code § 54954.5 sets forth the "safe harbors," that is, the descriptions of closed sessions on the meeting agenda that […]

January 6, 2020
Asked and Answered

Brown Act

Brown Act Violation Concerns Over Closed Session Protocols for Employee Evaluations

[…] administrative leave. The closed session agenda item was added to a special meeting just over 24 hours before that meeting and stated: Public Employee Performance Evaluation/Discipline/dismissal/release ( Government code section 54954.5 and 54947(b)) title: [employee title]. The employee was told verbally the day before that the item was added but he did not get […]

January 20, 2021