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July 2007 - Posts

Saturday, July 28, 2007 10:02 PM

Court Rules Former K-State Students Have No F.A. Claim

An appeals court has ruled that two women who once served as student newspaper editors at Kansas State University may not sue the school on a First Amendment claim because they no longer are students. The court's Thursday ruling was in response to a
posted by NeilRalston | 56 Comments
Thursday, July 26, 2007 4:05 PM

Judges Rule College President Violated First Amendment

An appellate court has ruled that the president of the College of Staten Island violated the First Amendment when she cancelled a student government election because she believed an issue of a student newspaper, the College Voice, was a “thinly veiled
posted by NeilRalston | 1 Comments
Thursday, July 26, 2007 11:19 AM

Arkansas SPJ asks for executions to be open

Northwest Arkansas SPJ has joined the ACLU and an Arkansas paper is asking that people be allowed to view executions in the state. Chapter President Michelle Parks is mentioned in the story about the lawsuit.  These types of local or state cases
posted by DaveAeikens | 1 Comments
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 6:47 PM

Appeals court rules station did not violate officers' privacy

A New Mexico television station that showed two undercover officers spoiling their anonymity did not violtate their right to privacy, an appeals court decided. Check out the details here.  
posted by DaveAeikens | 0 Comments
Monday, July 23, 2007 8:55 PM

Adviser Settles Lawsuit With Ocean County College

Karen Bosley will get to go back to teaching journalism and advising the student newspaper at Ocean County College under an agreement she recently reached with the school. Also under the agreement, the school will pay Bosley $90,000. Bosley sued the
posted by NeilRalston | 0 Comments
Monday, July 23, 2007 12:29 PM

SPJ supports paper in Pennsylvania defamation case

On Friday, the LDF committee voted to provide amicus (friend of the court) support for a case in Pennsyvania - Castellani V. Scranton Times. This case has a twist because it involves the state shield law. SPJ lawyer Laurie Babinski of Baker and Hostetler
posted by DaveAeikens | 0 Comments
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 1:02 PM

FOI requests take years

USA Today takes a look at the lengthy time and trouble it takes people to get federal government information. The story is here. The Justice Department opposes the proposed changes to the federal law that require better documentation and follow through.
posted by DaveAeikens | 0 Comments
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 5:51 PM

Shield law opposition ridiculous

San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Page Editor John Diaz picks apart the silly arguments that opponents to the federal Shield law are making. His best one: The bill makes exceptions that would prevent using the shield law for nefarious reasons. Read his
posted by DaveAeikens | 1 Comments
Friday, July 13, 2007 7:25 PM

Letter from assault victim to school public in Arizona

The Arizona Republic won access to a letter an alleged sexual assault victim sent to a school district. Gannett's Barbara Wall has details here.
posted by DaveAeikens | 0 Comments
Monday, July 09, 2007 3:03 PM

NC papers win open records case

The courts have leveled a good verdict for a pair of North Carolina papers that were seeking government records.  The story is here. The executive committee will be convening in Raleigh Aug. 4. Maybe we will hear more about this then.    
posted by DaveAeikens | 0 Comments
Friday, July 06, 2007 5:10 PM

LDF recipient Wolf to run for SF mayor

Josh Wolf, the recipient of the largest Legal Defense Fund grant in history, has announced he is running for mayor of San Francisco. SPJ gave Wolf, a freelance videographer and blogger, $30,000 in August. Wolf has the record as the journalist
posted by DaveAeikens | 2 Comments
Friday, July 06, 2007 12:50 PM

Ohio recognizes false light

Things got trickier for journalists in Ohio after a squabble between neighbors created a tighter false light standard. Gannett's Barbara Wall has the explanation.
posted by DaveAeikens | 0 Comments
Tuesday, July 03, 2007 1:03 PM

NY Times loses bid for government records through FOI

A judge ruled that the New York Times was properly denied record requests by the Department of Justice.
posted by DaveAeikens | 0 Comments
Monday, July 02, 2007 9:39 PM

Oregon Governor to Sign Student Press Rights Bill

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski said he will sign a bill that will add protections to high school and college journalists in the state. For more, check out this Student Press Law Center article.
posted by NeilRalston | 0 Comments
Monday, July 02, 2007 3:12 PM

FOI requests take time

Those who have doubts whether the federal Freedom of Information Act needs some fine tuning need only to read this New York Times piece about how long some people have waited to have their requests answered. The delays have taken up to 20 years. SPJ
posted by DaveAeikens | 0 Comments
Sunday, July 01, 2007 10:51 PM

Media gets access to Fizgerald documents

As Associated Press reports in Editor & Publisher online, the media get access to files in the Scooter Libby case.
posted by DaveAeikens | 0 Comments