Illinois Governor Bars Access to Records of Pardons

Picture by Seth Perlman. (c) 2007 Associated Press.

by Mugambi Nthiga

Another United States governor could soon be subjected to public scrutiny. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Illinois’ Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration, in what is considered to be a surprising move, has halted the opening of books to the press, that contain records of dozens of pardons that the governor has granted since he took office in 2003.

The executive clemency files, which were previously accessible to the press, contain such records as police reports, letters of recommendation and court records of past felonies, now pardoned by Blagojevich.

After two of the governor’s past pardons had raised criticisms, his administration rejected a FOIA request from The Chicago Sun-Times to access the records. “Release of the information ... would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” wrote the Prisoner Review Board's general counsel, Kenneth Tupy. The party whose privacy would be compromised has remained unnamed. The paper is now appealing the rejection.

Once again, the First Amendment is Presented to the People

Sourced from the National Archive. (c) 2006 Associated Press


Posted by Mugambi Nthiga

Feeling that the public perceives the press as a group of “unethical snoops”, and seeking to restore its image as “heroic investigators”, the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) and the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) will carry out a public awareness campaign on the First Amendment and its importance to the press.

According to The Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press, the awareness drive is part of a larger campaign to drum up public support for the First Amendment in innovative ways, and with help from more than 1,000 news organizations. This drive will involve the formidable task of digitizing government information, offering the public online access to government documents, and collaborating to improve reporters’ skills as watchdog journalists.

Toni Locy, one reporter being upheld as a living example of why such a campaign is necessary, works for the USA Today and is going through the appeal process for a contempt-of-court citation brought against her for refusing to reveal her sources in the infamous 2001 anthrax-mailing controversy.

Settle Out of Court, Urges Judge in ‘Harry Potter’ Suit

Posted by Mugambi Nthiga


Picture by Louis Lanzano. (c) 2008 Associated Press.


According to the Winnipeg Sun, It seems that U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson Jr. would rather have J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series of novels, and Steven Vander Ark, author of an unauthorized encyclopedia of the series titled ‘The Harry Porter Lexicon’ settle their differences out of court. He fears that the copyright infringement case involves many unresolved issues of American law, and could thus drag on for years in appeal hearings.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs – Rowling and Warner Bros (which holds the intellectual property rights to the books and films) – claim that “The Harry Porter Lexicon”, a fan-based collection of Harry Potter story lines and spells, contains too much copyrighted material from Rowling’s work.

The case, which began last Monday, is being heard at the Manhattan federal court, and has proved to be an emotional affair thus far.

Reporters Get Kicked Out of Public Meeting

Posted by Mugambi Nthiga

Two reporters from The Plain Dealer, a Cleveland daily, were ejected from a public meeting by Cuyahoga Commissioner Jimmy Dimora, after they asked him a question regarding a county employee’s qualifications and the reason she was hired.

According to The Plain Dealer, Mark Puente and Henry J. Gomez approached the Commissioner during recess, just before the meeting resumed. When they asked him about the employee, he became visibly upset and ordered that the reporters be escorted out by security. Plain Dealer editor Susan Goldberg described the eviction as “unacceptable” and part of “illegal, strong arm tactics [that] have no place in a free society.”

Listen to the altercation between Dimora and the reporters here.

WVU Faces Lawsuit from Pittsburgh Newspaper

By Mugambi Nthiga

The Pittsburgh-Post Gazette last Tuesday sued West Virginia University for failure to abide by the West Virginia’s law on open access to records.

According to an article in its own paper, the Post-Gazette claims that WVU delayed in answering its request to release some documents related to its retroactive award of an MBA degree to Heather Bresch, daughter of the governor of West Virginia, Gov. Joe Manchin.

The suit alleges that WVU did not respond promptly to a series of requests made by the paper under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Some of the requested documents addressed in the suit include WVU President Michael Garrison’s e-mail, cell phone and land-line records.

Author Confesses Plagiarizing

By: Trina Joshi

A Lonely Planet travel writer, Thomas Kohnstamm, confessed that he plagiarised or concocted portions of certain guidebooks that are now quick-sells among travelers, reports CNN.com.

He revealed that since Lonely Planet paid him little, he could not afford to visit every destination he wrote about. He authored a book on his misadventures in Colombia, but he never traveled to that country for a first-hand experience. "I wrote the book in San Francisco [California]," he told the Daily Telegraph. Instead, he made friends with an intern in the Consulate of Colombia and gathered all the information from her for the book.

The 32-year-old Kohnstam has written guidebooks on Brazil, Colombia, the Caribbean, Venezuela, Chile and South America, among many others.

Is this Freedom of Expression or Blasphemy?

(c) 2008, AP, Photo by Tatan Syuflana

Students protest against "Fitna" in Jakarta, Indonesia

By: Trina Joshi


The Indonesian netizens do not have access to YouTube, My Space and a few more Web sites that carried an anti-Islamic movie “Fitna, says an AFP report.”

The Internet Service Providers temporarily blocked the access to these sites in response to protests in the country and government’s request to stop showing the film thereafter.

The movie, made by a far-right Dutch lawmaker - Geert Wilders - is based on an anti-Islamic theme and portrays the holy book, Koran, in an objectionable manner. It showcases the 9/11 attacks and the 2004 Madrid bombings and uses some quotes from the Koran that coveys an impression that such gory acts have been justified by the holy book of Muslims. This has offended people of a country that has the largest population of Muslims in the world.

My question – 1) Is this freedom of expression or blasphemy?

2) Is there any freedom of expression in hurting the sentiments of somebody?

3) Should government have the power to quell voices that are against the faith of its country?

4) In an attempt to stop protests in the country, is the Indonesian government right in its place for banning access to certain Web site?

A retort to Fitna - http://youtube.com/watch?v=rpiccERJaFk

Prisoner Denied Access to Medical Records

By: Trina Joshi

A prisoner’s appeal to obtain his prison documents has been turned down by a federal appeals court in Virginia.

Joseph Giarratano, who suffers from Hepatitis C, wanted to ensure if the prison’s treatment system was efficient by using the state’s open-secret record. However, the court failed to find any convincing argument from him that could say the state lacked rationale for keeping the prisoners from such details.

My question: - Should inmates be denied access to public records under the First Amendment, especially when the information directly concerns the person.

AP Photographer Remains Detained for No Charges

(c) AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Rick Egan, File
Bilal Hussein

By: Trina Joshi

A captive journalist spends his second year in the U.S. military detention without a hope of release, according to Reuters.

The U.S. military accused Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi journalist for the Associated Press, of being accomplice to the Iraqi insurgents and detained him for no charges for two years.

The military refused to release Bilal Hussein, despite an Iraqi judicial committee’s order to release him. The committee dismissed all the accusations of terrorism against him.

The military spokesperson, Lieutenant Commander Kenneth Marshall, contended that the Iraqi committee’s order did not apply to Hussein because he is in U.S. military custody.

My questions: i) Doesn’t the First Amendment protect foreign journalists who work for an American news organisation? If not, why?
ii) Doesn’t the First Amendment protect a journalist form being detained without any charges?
iii) Is the U.S. military powerful enough to disregard an order of another country’s judicial committee?

Immunity to the Web Hangs in Balance

By: Trina Joshi



The latest ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco (9th cir.) denies immunity to Web site roommates.com for seemingly discriminatory content under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, according to a Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press report.

Until this ruling, the section 230 of the CDA did not hold a Web publisher liable for any third-party content that had objectionable contents and might appear discriminatory to some readers.

The Web site in question here has no unlawful information/content that may deprive it of complete protection under the section 230 of the CDA. However, the interactive format of the Web site, like the drop-down lists, asks certain questions that might offend some.

The dissenting judge said that this ruling has baffled the Web publisher about how far they deserve to be left alone.


My question - Is certain content on the Web subject to scrutiny?
Does this ruling challenge Judge Dalzell's stand on immunity to the Internet?


Reminder - Dalzell assigned the maximum scrutiny to the Internet and said that it is entitled to "highest protection from governmental inturion."

FOIA Prevails Again

By Emmy Llewellyn

Citizen Action won the ruling made by Judge Robert Brack regarding the release of documents on nuclear waste sites, monitoring of sites and a 10-year plan for activities at Sandia National Laboratories, according to an article by the Associated Press and posted in the First Amendment Center.
In 2006, the activist organization sued the National Nuclear Security Administration using the Freedom of Information Act to get the information. According to FOIA, once petitioned, agencies must respond to a request within 20 business days.
Citizen Action sought the documents out of concern for Sandia National Laboratories' waste landfill.
The NNSA repeatedly did not respond to requests for the documents made by Citizen Action, and then would not say why the documents could not be released. According to the article posted by the First Amendment Center, Brack said in his ruling that, "FOIA requirements apply with equal force to situations involving national security, sensational or complex issues."

The Mars Company Fights Back

(c) 2005 Associated Press, photo by Adam Rountree

By Emmy Llewellyn

According to ADLAW by Request, the Mars Corporation was sued in February by New York City's popular Naked Cowboy, Robert Burck, over trademark infringement and appropriation when they posted an advertisement of an M&M in Times Square wearing similar attire to the Naked Cowboy.
Recently, Mars said that the Naked Cowboy obtained his trademark fraudulently, and referred to a January 1, 2008 statement that shows Burck said he was using the Naked Cowboy Design Mark on several products including aprons, Halloween costumes, footwear, pajamas and jeans. Mars says that he never used his trademark on any such items and therefore submitted a false statement when registering the trademark.
As well, Mars claimed that Burck has not used his trademark in three years, and in order for a trademark to be protected, it must be used.
Will the Naked Cowboy have to saddle up and go home?

Should the Eliot Spitzer Investigation be Made Available to the Public?

By Emmy Llewellyn

(c)2008 Associated Press, Picture by Tim Roske

P. David Soares, the Albany County district attorney, petitioned Gov. David Paterson to release "executive privilege" so that the investigation on former Gov. Eliot Spitzer could be made available to the public, according to Alanna Malone of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
The information that would be released encompasses the investigation on "Troopergate," which took place last year, when Spitzer and his staff tried to discredit Republican state Senate Leader Joseph L. Bruno. In October 2007, the Commission on Public Integrity released evidence that one of Spitzer's aides could have been forced to lie in a statement submitted while under oath. This Investigation, called "Investigation D," is what the D.A. wants to make public.
Currently, Gov. Paterson's office is seeking the advice of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as to whether Spitzer still has privileges in keeping this investigation quiet, or whether Gov. Paterson can, in fact, made the investigation public at all.

New York Legislature passes the Libel Terrorism Protection Act

By Emmy Llewellyn

It all started when Saudi Arabian businessman, Khalid Salim a Bin Mahfouz, won a judgement in a defamation suit against Rachel Ehrenfeld, an author from the United States, in a British court. Previously, Bin Mahfouz has sued for libel 36 times in British courts, according to The Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press.
The bill was initiated when the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the state did not have "jurisdiction" over Bin Mahfouz when he won the suit against an American author in a British court.
This new law would help protect American journalists from these types of lawsuits in governments outside of the United States that do not offer the same freedoms that journalists get under our First Amendment.
This bill reinforces that the First Amendment protects our free speech values even when they are challenged on foreign soil.

Out with Public Relations, In with the News Media!

By Emmy Llewellyn

(c) 2008 Associated Press, Photo by A.J. Mast

According to the New York Times, when the New York Knicks franchise hired Donnie Walsh from Indiana as the Knicks' new president, they did not expect him to lessen the restrictions that Madison Square Garden Chairman, James Dolan, instituted on the media in 2001.
Currently the Knicks' policy on dealing with the media is the most restrictive one for any team in the National Basketball Association, according to the New York Times. All Knicks' franchise assistants have to confer with the public relations department before agreeing to an interview or even speaking with the news media.
Dolan originally placed this policy to present a consistent front for teams in the Garden with dealing with the media, according to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times. The reports and interviews were consistent and different reports weren't being given by many people within the Madison Square Garden Arena.
Walsh declared that the new media policy would be less stringent, but did not elaborate. This could mean the end of the public relations step in the Knicks' process of dealing with the media!