Everything online journalists need to protect their legal rights. This free resource culls from all Reporters Committee resources and includes exclusive content on digital media law issues.
Court overturns order forcing newsletter to print response
08/14/95
MISSOURI--A federal District Court in Des Moines, Iowa, abused its discretion when it ordered Farmland Industries to print an article in its newsletter and refrain from publishing articles that might be construed as asking plaintiffs to opt out of a class action suit, the U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis (8th Cir.) ruled in mid-July.
Denial of electronic access violates state sunshine law
12/27/94
MISSOURI -- In late November a Cole County judge found that the Missouri Revisor of Statutes violated the state sunshine law by restricting access to the electronic form of the state Revised Statutes.
Cities can deny access to computer mapping systems under new statute
08/23/1994
MISSOURI -- Municipalities may deny access to specialized computer systems that correlate database information with geographic maps.
The statute, signed by the governor in mid- July, allows communities to set access rules for the computer systems, commonly known as Geographic Information Systems.
MISSOURI -- The American Bar Association's House of Delegates approved the Uniform Correction or Clarification of Defamation Act by a vote of 176-130 in early February.
Freedom of Information | Feature | January 11, 1994
Feature
January 11, 1994
Closed city council committee meeting was illegal, Missouri judge rules
01/11/1994
MISSOURI -- A meeting of the executive police committee of the Louisiana, Mo., City Council to hear citizen complaints, primarily from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was closed illegally, the Circuit Court in Pike County Missouri ruled in early December.
Freedom of Information | Feature | December 14, 1993
Feature
December 14, 1993
Lawsuit seeks electronic version of statutes
12/14/1993
MISSOURI -- The revisor of statutes has been taken to court over his contention that the computerized version of Missouri's laws is not a public record.
Requests for access to public records may be made orally or in writing. For routine requests to which an objection is unlikely, oral requests are sufficient. However, if opposition to access is anticipated, a written and dated request is recommended.
Reasonable notice requires posting of notice of meetings of public governmental bodies on a bulletin board or other prominent place which is easily accessible to the public and clearly designated for that purpose at the principal office of the body holding the meeting. If the body has no such office, notice is to be posted at the building in which the meeting is to be held. Mo.Rev.Stat. § 610.020.1.
While this issues has not been specifically addressed in case law, a reference in Classics III at 656 notes that the court found important in its analysis of the elements that the subpoenaing party could likely obtain the same or similar evidence from other potential witnesses.
Briefs & Comments,
