FIRST AMENDMENT

OF U.S. CONSTITUTION

Congress shall make

no law respecting an establishment of religion,

or prohibiting the free

exercise thereof; or

abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;

or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,

and to petition the

Government for a

redress of grievances.

ABOUT NEFAC

2016 MAJOR SUPPORTERS

LEARN ABOUT OUR ANNUAL NEW ENGLAND FIRST AMENDMENT INSTITUTE

NEFAC'S ANNUAL
NEW ENGLAND FIRST AMENDMENT AWARDS

SUNSHINE WEEK 2016

FILE FREE FOI REQUEST

We welcome contributions

to the NEFAC Report from journalists, lawyers, academics

or other advocates of

government transparency. If

you have something to add

to the conversation, please let

us know. Your stories, experiences and commentaries have broad appeal and value.

Submissions can be emailed to: mail@nefirstamendment.org

NEFAC REPORT | March 2016

Sunshine Week 2016

NEFAC Partners with Loeb School,

Details Regional Transparency Efforts

The New England First Amendment

Coalition recently joined open government advocates to celebrate the 11th annual Sunshine Week. The national campaign, from March 13-19, was an initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of transparency and freedom of information. In honor of Sunshine Week, NEFAC partnered with the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications in Manchester, N.H., to discuss that state's Right to Know Law. NEFAC also provided op/eds and daily blog posts addressing transparency concerns throughout the region. These reports were written by some of the area's leading advocates for open government and collectively provided a sense of the progress being made - and the challenges that still exist - throughout all six New England states. [More]

Op/Ed by NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman

It's Sunshine Week, an annual celebration of transparency in government. Freedom of information advocates throughout the country will spend the next several days reminding communities about their right to obtain public records and the need to make those records more accessible. In Massachusetts, the timing is especially appropriate. [More]

State Reports

Connecticut's Secrecy in Government Awards

James Smith | NEFAC and Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information

RI's FOI Laws in Need of Improvement - Here's What Can Be Done

Linda Lotridge Levin | Access/RI

Keeping the Sunshine in Maine, Broadening Access to Gov't Info

Jim Campbell | Maine Freedom of Information Coalition

It's Sunshine Week and Vermont Has a Right to Know

Jim Condos | Vermont Secretary of State

Transparency in MA: An Unfulfilled Mandate, Not an 'Unfunded' One

Shawn Musgrave | New England Center for Investigative Reporting

Transparency Should Be the Granite State of Mind

David Saad | Right to Know New Hampshire

Coverage of NEFAC, Loeb School Event


	[More Photos]

Let the Sunshine In: Right To Know Weakest Locally | Union Leader

Granite Status | Union Leader

Open Government is Focus of Right-to-Know Discussion | Union Leader

Public Info Stories Traded at Right-to-Know Event | Concord Monitor

NEFAC News

NEFAC Defends Access to Government Records During Maine Court Proceedings

The New England First Amendment Coalition and the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition filed an amicus brief last month arguing that Maine's Freedom of Access Act should not prevent parties in judicial proceedings from obtaining evidence. "We're participating in this case to make sure that government records aren't kept secret from judges and juries without a compelling reason," said NEFAC's Sigmund Schutz, an attorney for Preti Flaherty in Portland and a member of MFOIC. Schutz drafted the brief, which was filed on Feb. 16. [More]

Blog

Scholars Gather for NEFAC-Sponsored 'First Amendment Bubble' Discussion

Amy Gajda, author of the "The First Amendment Bubble: How Privacy and Paparazzi Threaten a Free Press," was the keynote speaker at a symposium last month that centered on her book and how the desire of courts to protect privacy rights has affected First Amendment protections of media. The New England First Amendment Coalition sponsored the event. Gajda was joined by Clay Calvert of University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications, and Sonja West of Georgia School of Law. [More]

Conjecture, Speculation, Inference: It's All

a Matter of Opinion for Mass. Journalists

The right to publish speculative opinions on sensitive matters - even if they portray an individual in a negative light - is now stronger in Massachusetts thanks to a recent ruling by the state's high court. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court dismissed in November a lawsuit against the Boston Herald, which could have changed the practice of journalism and limited the First Amendment rights of media. [More]

Other FOI and First Amendment News

National

Encryption, Apple v. DOJ