Search results: World Is Open (sorted by relevance)
Items: 2931 (147 pages)
Pages: << · < · ... 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 ... · > · >>
QUICKLINK Virginia · December 8, 2009 · Secret courts
Juror identities now public in Virginia Beach
Judges in Virginia Beach, Va., will no longer automatically seal juror names and will defer to a proposed statewide court rule that permits secrecy only for good cause, The Virginian-Pilot reported.
The Virginia Beach Circuit Court began automatically shielding the names of criminal jurors as an “ounce-of-prevention-type thing” in November 2008, but has ceased the practice in light of “a state . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 3:35 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Texas · December 14, 2009 · State open government
Texas public officials file suit to overturn open meetings law
Public officials throughout the state of Texas filed a lawsuit Monday to overturn the state's open meetings law, claiming the provision that bars officials from meeting in secret violates their right to free speech.
More than 20 elected officials and a dozen cities across the state, including Pflugerville, Rockport, and Alpine, have signed onto the lawsuit against the State of Texas and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, which was filed in federal court today . . . [more]
— Miranda Fleschert, 5:17 pm · View reader comments (1)
QUICKLINK U.S. · December 17, 2009 · Freedom of information
House hearing focuses on improving access to federal records
A week after the Obama administration issued new open government initiatives, a congressional panel heard testimony Wednesday to consider whether the National Archives and Records Administration is meeting its mission to provide public access to federal records.
Subcommittee Chairman William "Lacy" Clay, D-Mo., expressed concern that the archive’s focus on museum exhibits may be draining resources and manpower from its larger mission of increasing government openness, Federal News Radio . . . [more]
— Miranda Fleschert, 6:06 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Alabama · December 29, 2009 · Freedom of information
Alabama newspaper askes for withheld 'personal' email
An Alabama newspaper is demanding copies of so-called personal e-mail messages sent by city officials that were withheld from a recent open-records request.
An attorney representing the TimesDaily sent a letter to Florence's city attorney asking for messages sent and received by Florence's mayor, city council and city attorney from city e-mail accounts that weren't produced after an earlier request. On Nov. 24, the paper asked the city for . . . [more]
— Amanda Becker, 4:09 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK U.S. · December 30, 2009 · Freedom of information
Obama issues long-awaited declassification order
President Obama on Monday issued an anticipated declassification order and memorandum to agency heads that dictates no records can be kept classified indefinitely during his administration.
"No information may remain classified indefinitely," Obama wrote in the order. "Information marked for an indefinite duration of . . . [more]
— Amanda Becker, 6:20 pm · Comments: 0
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE Washington, D.C. · December 31, 2009 · Privacy
Media groups urge high court to review publicity case
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Society for Professional Journalists have filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of Hustler magazine asking the Supreme Court to clarify that right-of-publicity claims should not apply to newsworthy photographs.
The suit arose when Hustler appealed the decision of a U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta (11th Cir.) that said the magazine's use of the image of a murdered professional wrestler violated her right-of-publicity interests -- an individual's right to control and profit from the commercial use of their own name or likeness that is protected by a series of state laws.
"The opinion . . . is in conflict with other Courts of Appeal that have held that to comply with the First Amendment, the newsworthiness exception to the right-of-publicity tort must be broadly construed if the publication is not for a purely commercial purpose," the friend-of-the-court brief read.
After Nancy Benoit was killed, along with her . . . [more]
— Amanda Becker, 2:24 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK New Jersey · January 8, 2010 · Freedom of information
New Jersey police department releases anticlimactic reports
A New Jersey police department has released the seemingly benign use-of-force reports that were the subject of an open records legal battle that cost the city $80,000 and set a precedent for other law enforcement departments statewide, NorthJersey.com reported.
A New Jersey appeals court in November ordered West Milford's police department to release the reports, which are generated any time a police offer uses . . . [more]
— Miranda Fleschert, 5:20 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Wisconsin · January 14, 2010 · Freedom of information
Wisconsin bill would force athletic associations to share records
A state bill that would force Wisconsin's athletic association to comply with existing open records and meetings laws was discussed in a public hearing on Tuesday, The Green Bay Press Gazette reported.
The move was the latest attempt to force national and state-level athletics associations to comply with public records requests after denials led to lengthy legal battles in other states.
Although the Wisconsin . . . [more]
— Curry Andrews, 5:04 pm · View reader comments (1)
QUICKLINK Kansas · January 15, 2010 · Secret courts
Positive signs for access, though jury selection still largely closed
The Associated Press and three other media outlets will not pursue further litigation in response to the mostly closed jury selection for the trial of Scott Roeder who is accused of murdering a later-term abortion provider in Kansas.
Judge Warren Wilbert ruled earlier that jury selection for the case would be closed entirely. In response, the AP and three other media outlets appealed the decision to the Kansas Supreme Court which ordered Wilbert to reconsider his ruling, the AP . . . [more]
— Curry Andrews, 2:49 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Ohio · January 20, 2010 · Prior restraints
Ohio judge tells media to delay reports on manslaughter trial
An Ohio judge has ordered the news media not to report on a criminal trial involving the death of a toddler, even though it is open to the public, The [Toledo] Blade reported.
Henry County trial court Judge Keith P. Muehlfeld said reporters can attend the trial of a mother charged with involuntary manslaughter after her 13-month-old daughter's overdose, but cannot report on the proceedings until the jury is chosen next week in the trial of the mother's boyfriend, who . . . [more]
— Cristina Abello, 4:59 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Texas · January 21, 2010 · Secret courts
Mistrial declared after Supreme Court ruling on jury selection
One day after the Supreme Court ruled that jury selection in criminal trials should be open to the public, a Dallas judge declared a mistrial in a case in which the jury had been selected behind closed doors, Politico reported.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn learned about the decision, which stated that open jury selection is a First and Sixth Amendment right, once jurors in an extortion . . . [more]
— Nadia Tamez-Robledo, 6:38 pm · View reader comments (2)
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE Washington, D.C. · February 23, 2010 · Libel
Senate committee debates libel tourism law
The Senate Judiciary Committee in a hearing Tuesday morning voiced support for legislation that would attempt to deter foreign libel lawsuits against American authors and publishers but left the door open to further negotiation about specific legislative action.
Because other countries do not have the strong speech protections of the First Amendment, libel plaintiffs often file suit abroad to win judgments against Americans that would have been lost in U.S. courts. Attorneys Kurt Wimmer and Bruce Brown, who work with media defendants, testified about the potential harms of international forum shopping for libel suits, which is known colloquially as libel tourism.
“If American authors and publishers run the risk of foreign lawsuits with every article or book that they write, there is a race to the bottom and to the most chilling and restrictive standards,” said Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. "This potential chilling effect will in turn deprive Americans of the kind of candid commentary and uninhibited information that our laws are designed to . . . [more]
— Cristina Abello, 6:01 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK New Mexico · March 16, 2010 · Secret courts
New Mexico Supreme Court adopts new rules for sealing records
The New Mexico Supreme Court has adopted a uniform set of rules that will dictate when court records can be sealed, including a presumption that the records are public, the El Defensor Chieftain reported.
Beginning on July 1, records that are not automatically sealed by statute can only be sealed by court order. Specific identifying information, like Social Security numbers, will be . . . [more]
— Christine Beckett, 4:06 pm · View reader comments (1)
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE Washington, D.C. · March 19, 2010 · Freedom of information
Members of House hear testimony about FOIA progress
Journalists, government representatives and Freedom of Information Act experts testified before members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Thursday about FOIA compliance and reform.
The hearing, which was chaired Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, D-Mo., was the latest Sunshine Week event that highlighted the disparity that still exists between the transparency the government believes it has achieved and the progress public records requesters say is still needed.
Members of the first panel included Miriam Nisbet, the director of the newly established Office of Government Information Services, and Melanie Pustay of the Office of Information Policy. Both testified about the progress their offices had made in fulfilling President Obama's Open Government Directive, which told federal agencies to increase transparency.
The second panel, which included academic experts and transparency advocates who routinely file FOIA requests, was less optimistic. Tom Fitton, the president of . . . [more]
— Christine Beckett, 5:14 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK D.C. Cir. · April 6, 2010 · Internet regulation
Federal appeals court vacates FCC's decision on net neutrality
A federal appeals court ruled today that the Federal Communications Commission does not have the authority to order an Internet service provider to change its management policies.
The decision, which has far-reaching implications, casts doubt on the FCC's authority to require net neutrality, which requires that all Internet content be treated equally, at a time when the . . . [more]
— Nadia Tamez-Robledo, 5:45 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK U.S. · April 8, 2010 · Secret courts
Openness urged in military commission policy revisions
A group of civil liberties advocates, human rights activists and other interested parties are urging the Defense Department to make military commission procedures more open as it revises its rules and policies, The National Law Journal reported.
The military commission system was created . . . [more]
— Christine Beckett, 4:28 pm · Comments: 0
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE U.S. · April 9, 2010 · Freedom of information
Response to agencies' openness plans largely positive
Federal agencies unveiled open government plans this week as required by the Obama administration's Open Government Directive. Though the assessments made by open-government advocates have been largely positive, some agencies' plans display a stronger commitment to transparency than others.
December's Open Government Directive set April 7 as the deadline for agencies to release their plans for improving transparency and access to records. The open government plans are now available on each agency’s Web site.
“At their best, the Directive and the actions taken today represent a process that could become as important to government transparency as enactment of the Freedom of Information Act,” said Gary D. Bass, executive director of OMB Watch in a release. “Even at their worst, today’s actions represent solid progress toward meaningful government transparency, with many details still needed.”
Still, the improvement in agency transparency cannot be fully assessed without analyzing each individual plan, some of . . . [more]
— Miranda Fleschert, 4:07 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Michigan · April 14, 2010 · State open government
Mich. state health department reverses denial of H1N1 records
Michigan’s state health department released documents Wednesday that contained information outlining how funds for H1N1 prevention and treatment programs were used, The Michigan Messenger reported.
The disclosure comes after a coalition of open government advocates appealed the Michigan Department of Community Health’s previous refusal to fulfill the Messenger’s March open records request for the documents, claiming doing so would . . . [more]
— Nadia Tamez-Robledo, 4:40 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Alabama · April 19, 2010 · Freedom of information
Alabama passes bill to exempt 911 calls from open-records law
The Alabama Senate passed a bill last week that would make the audio recordings of 911 calls exempt from state open records laws, the Florence Times Daily reported.
H.B. 159 was sent to Gov. Bob Riley for signing on April 14, 2010.
"Our governor has taken a very strong stance on public records and I would hope that he would veto the bill," said Sharon Tinsely, President of the Alabama Broadcasters . . . [more]
— Curry Andrews, 5:06 pm · View reader comments (2)
QUICKLINK California · May 12, 2010 · Freedom of information
State university officials endorsed secrecy of Palin's speaking fee
E-mail messages made public this week by a state lawmaker show top California State University officials agreed to keep secret the speaking fee it intended to pay former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, California Watch reported.
The e-mail messages were released this week to Californians Aware, a First Amendment organization that has sued university's Stanislaus campus in order to gain access to its contract with Palin.
“Bernie, I agree with you . . . [more]
— Miranda Fleschert, 6:06 pm · View reader comments (4)
Pages: << · < · ... 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 ... · > · >>
• RSS feed
News categories:
News keywords: