Arizona First Amendment Coalition » Arizona

Amicus Brief in metadata case

admin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:59:42 +0000

Click here to read the amicus brief that was filed in the Arizona Supreme Court on behalf of the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Arizona Newspapers Association in Lake v. City of Phoenix. I think the brief turned out well and many thanks to Professor Steve Doig at ASU’s Cronkite School for his invaluable assistance.

Sedona reporter tests Rule 122

Sedona reporter tests Rule 122

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:22:57 +0000

Tommy Acosta, editor of the Sedona Times and a freelance writer for Sedona.biz, has been ordered by the Sedona Magistrate Court to show cause why he should not be found in “indirect civil contempt” for allegedly videotaping a court proceeding.

Jennifer S. Paetkau, an assistant city attorney for the City of Sedona, alleges that Mr. Acosta, while attending a driving-with-suspended-license Arraignment proceeding for Melinda Arnold June 17 at the City Council Chamber, with the knowledge of the defendant, videotaped the proceeding without permission from the court, therefore violating Rule 122(f) of the Arizona Rules of the Supreme Court.

Final Report on Rule 123

Ariz. appeals court rules metadata aren’t public records

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:36:53 +0000

A divided Arizona appellate court has ruled that hidden electronic data that indicate how and when documents are produced with word-processing computer programs aren’t themselves public records. Read more: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/press/information/news.aspx?id=21130

Final Report on Rule 123

admin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:05:34 +0000

Rule 123, Rules of the Supreme Court of Arizona, governs public access to records maintained by the judiciary. The foundation of the Rule is that court records should be open to everyone. But exactly what information should be available to the public online for individual cases? Should certain users be authorized to directly access case management databases in real time, such as government agencies, government contractors, commercial agencies subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the news media, or research organizations? If so, what standards and processes are needed to qualify for such access? The Advisory Committee on Supreme Court Rule 123 and Data Dissemination examines these and other issues in their final report: http://supreme.state.az.us/Rule123/Rule%20123%20%20DDA%20Committee%20Report%20v4.pdf.

Sedona reporter tests Rule 122