FAC conducts a program of strategic litigation by initiating “test case” lawsuits to resolve key legal issues in a way that maximizes chances for a favorable outcome, with potentially far-reaching effects.
The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) today filed suit against the county of San Diego to force the disclosure of records relating to allegations of sexual misconduct against its District Attorney’s Office. (You can read the filed petition below.) The office has refused to release the records, which clearly must be disclosed
The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) today filed an amicus brief in a California Court of Appeal case that could have far-reaching consequences for the transparency of government meetings. In the brief, FAC urges the court to find that Metrolink, Southern California’s largest commuter rail system, violated the state’s open-meetings laws
In an important win for government transparency, a Santa Clara Superior Court judge has ruled that the city of Milpitas must release documents relating to allegations of serious misconduct by former city manager Tom Williams. The city originally withheld the documents based in part on a “reverse California Public Record
A court in Hayward, CA yesterday denied an unprecedented effort by a public school district to recover nearly half a million dollars in attorneys fees from a woman who had requested public records from the district. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Brand ruled that the motion by the Newark
The First Amendment Coalition and the American Civil Liberties Union on Monday submitted a friend-of-court brief arguing that an effort by the Newark Unified School District to recover nearly half a million dollars in attorneys’ fees from a woman who requested public records under the California Public Records Act is
The First Amendment Coalition (FAC) yesterday filed suit against the city of Bakersfield over the city council’s repeated practice of holding closed-door meetings to discuss topics that under California law must be heard in public. The lawsuit, jointly filed with Californians Aware (CalAware) in Kern County Superior Court, also demands
