Briefs & Comments

Written testimony of Lucy A. Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, on behalf of the Sunshine in Government Initiative, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on "Addressing Concerns about the Integrity of the U.S. Department of Labor's Jobs Reporting."

Courthouse News Service challenged a policy of the Ventura County, Calif., Superior Court that withholds from public inspection records filed with the court until after the court completes its processing, which takes several days and sometimes much longer. Courthouse News filed an action in federal court, claiming that the procedure violates its First Amendment-based right of public access. The trial court dismissed the case, holding that federal courts should not unduly interfere with pending and future state court proceedings.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a letter brief in support of California resident Michael Chwe's petition to the California Supreme Court for review of a lower court ruling allowing a public employee who is the subject of a public records request to preemptively file a lawsuit challenging an agency's decision to release the record. If such a ruling is allowed to stand, it will have the effect of reversing the presumption of public access to records in the state by forcing the public to demonstrate at the outset why a particular record should be disclosed.

Photojournalist Bradley Stuart Allen was charged with felony conspiracy and other offenses for his coverage of an "Occupy" demonstration in Santa Cruz, Calif. The Reporters Committee and National Press Photographers Association argued that newsgathering is constitutionally protected, and courts considering punishments for exercise of that right should weigh the public interest in obtaining information against competing interests. The groups urged the Court to grant Mr.

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Executive Director Lucy Dalglish testified before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee of the Maryland General Assembly, in support of SB 221. which clarifies and modernizes Maryland's anti-SLAPP law. SB 221 offers several important improvements to the current law, including the removal of the requirement that defendants show that the plaintiff filed the lawsuit in “bad faith” – that is, with the intent to use it to stifle constitutionally protected expression – in order to have the lawsuit dismissed as a SLAPP.

The Massachusetts Legislature is considering a bill that would impose criminal charges against members of the media and others who, in connection with any criminal proceeding, disclose documents that divulge information about a child involved in the proceeding, regardless of the source of such documents or information. The bill requires all documents that include such information to be filed under seal, without court order, with a redacted version made publicly available.

The Delaware Coalition for Open Government brought a lawsuit in federal court against the Delaware Chancery Court, its judges and the state challenging as facially unconstitutional Chancery Court rules that allow blanket confidentiality in private arbitration proceedings and records, including court-supervised settlement agreements.