“Open & Shut”

“I have little doubt that the author of our Constitution, James Madison, who cautioned us to beware ‘the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power,’ would be aghast.”

— Judge Richard J. Leon, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, finding the NSA’s collection of phone metadata unconstitutional in Klayman v. Obama

“Technology allowed al-Qaeda to operate decentralized and plot international terrorist attacks remotely. The bulk telephony metadata collection program represents the Government's counter-punch…”

— Judge William H. Pauley, of the Southern District of New York, finding the NSA’s collection of phone metadata constitutional in ACLU v. Clapper

"Guests had been greeted by a 'cell phone check' table where they deposited their camera phones on arrival and it was understood that this was not an occasion for Tweeting party photos or Facebooking details."

— People Magazine on gag order White House imposed on guests at Michelle Obama’s 50th birthday party

“So great was the secrecy surrounding the party that guests were handed an invitation — on their way out.”

— Chicago Tribune, same event

“The U.S. Supreme Court is now one of the last major institutions of Western civilization that has not entered the 21st century technologically. I join with those in a growing movement calling on the justices to change that.”

— Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor in an editorial urging the U.S. Supreme Court to allow cameras in its courtroom

"The value of anonymous speech has long been recognized. Even the Federalist Papers, written in favor of the adoption of our Constitution, were published under fictitious names."

— Lori Mince, lawyer for Nola.com/The Times-Picayune, in a motion to quash a subpoena that seeks names of the people who posted anonymous online comments regarding the criminal investigation of a New Orleans city leader who now faces bribery charges

“If we don’t address this in an effective way, we risk losing the information of our age…If you don’t keep the record, you can’t be accountable, good or bad.”

— Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap in the Portland Press Herald on the state’s need to address concerns about non-compliance with its open-records act