California

A federal trial court in California granted a newspaper's request for documents in a civil lawsuit involving a 2007 forest fire that burned down tens of thousands of acres northeast of Sacramento, ruling that the writings became public records once they were filed with the court.

At least six journalists were among more than 400 arrested during the Occupy Oakland demonstration in California over the weekend.

Protesters clashed with police in what began as a midday rally on Saturday that escalated into violence with rock throwing and tear gas spraying. Protesters are also accused of breaking into Oakland City Hall, vandalizing the walls and burning an American flag, according to news reports.

The maker of the iPhone and iPad failed to convince a federal judge in California that court documents in its lawsuit against a maker of Mac computer clones should remain shielded from public view.

The Superior Court of California for the county of Sacramento entered an order Friday ruling that the California assembly – the lower house of the state legislature – must release budget-related records to news organizations under the state’s Legislative Open Records Act.

A federal court in California has ruled that an unnamed internet critic of an international spiritual organization can maintain his anonymity -- at least for now.

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department over its written policy designating photography in certain public places as suspicious activity.

The suit comes after three separate incidents where photographers on public property were detained by the sheriff's deputies, which the suit says violated the photographers' First Amendment rights to free expression and their Fourth Amendment rights to be free of unlawful searches and seizures.

An Academy Award-winning film that addressed “an issue of paramount importance in the Iraq war” is protected speech about a public issue, a federal judge in California ruled yesterday, dismissing a U.S. serviceman's lawsuit alleging “The Hurt Locker” unlawfully benefited from the use of his identity without his consent.

The public has a right to view materials filed in support of search warrant applications once an investigation is over, a federal appeals court recently held, adding that the right of access is infringed when the material is sealed because of general concerns that it may be posted online.

A California judge denied earlier this week a hospital district's application for a temporary restraining order in connection with a lawsuit it filed against a San Diego newspaper over the healthcare provider's botched response to a public records request.

Video recordings of the contentious trial that struck down California’s ban on same-sex marriage should be released to the public, a federal judge in San Francisco ordered Monday, ruling that there is no compelling reason that the tapes should remain sealed.