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.
The Michigan Department of State Police is charging the Mackinac Center for Public Policy nearly $7 million to fulfill its FOIA request for information on how the state has used homeland security grant money since 2002, the nonpartisan research group reported.
A Washington city rejected a local open government activist's offer last week to settle a public records suit in which a state appeals court has ordered it to pay what could amount to $110,000 in legal fees, The Daily Herald reported.
The Broward Bulldogreported last week that two of the three finalists for a U.S. attorney post in southern Florida have been involved in controversies regarding court records -- one for altering a docket in apparent violation of state law and another who helped prosecute a secret case in the wake of Sept. 11.
Personal e-mail messages on government accounts are not public records, even when they are between a judge and a party to a pending case, the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled Nov. 12.
On the heels of a Supreme Court ruling that temporarily blocked the release of the names of people who petitioned to repeal a same-sex marriage law in Washington state, the appeals court has released its rationale for its earlier order to disclose the names.
The open-government site Sunshine Review found that despite Florida's strong open records law, obtaining information on public schools is still a daunting process for private citizens, the group's editor wrote in the Orlando Sentinel.
Santa Clara County must pay a nonprofit watchdog group $500,000 to cover its legal fees after a three-year dispute over whether the county could withhold or charge extremely high fees for electronic maps that were sought during a public records request, the San Jose Mercury Newsreported.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed two bills this week that were designed to bring greater transparency and accountability to California's public colleges. This is the latest in a string of actions Schwarzenegger has taken against increased transparency since assuming the governor's office in 2003.
A Florida appeals court upheld Florida’s open meetings law today and ordered the National Collegiate Athletic Association to hand over documents related to secret disciplinary proceedings against Florida State University.
