As a reporter, the First Amendment Coalition is an incredibly valuable resource. Government agencies find more and more reasons to deny requests and too often I feel like I have no recourse. I find their online resources incredibly helpful and when I have nuanced questions, I can always rely on members of the hotline to respond timely.
My son was kidnapped and drugged. His body was left on the San Francisco Street like a dead dog.
I reported him missing in March of 2024. He was found dead on August 27, 2024 in San Francisco on Jessie street in front of a parking garage.
I have requested a copy of the the incident report and photos of the death.
I was told that they redacted the information and I can not have access to it.
How can you assist me with recovering this information?
EJB.
My name is Kim and I'm glad there are groups like you that have no problem standing with us and fighting for our rights. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I live in Fresno California and for three plus years a group of us tenants are fighting a corporation named Harmony Communities we are fighting for our homes and our right to privacy. Right now that corporation has filed bankruptcy to try and get out of paying for our moving fees etc. If we lose we will be homeless. This adding to the homeless population. We are going to win this fight the good Lord is on our side and these evil beings need to be stopped. Thanks again for what you do! Keep pressing on.
I am so thankful that I came across the First Amendment Coalition website for so many reasons, but I'll name just a few. Their website offers fantastic free resources to help individuals submit a public records request, the free webinars are also very informative, and their correspondences are timely and comprehensive. This is truly an invaluable service with dedicated professionals making themselves available to help people hold their governing officials accountable.
First Amendment Coalition gave me important information about my rights under California's open meeting laws that allowed me to confidently and successfully challenge a local school board's practice of not allowing public comment on certain agenda items -- all without having to hire a lawyer or go to court. The information FAC provided included what is on their website as well as a response to a specific question I submitted through their website.
They’re who we turn to when there’s an attempt to censor student journalism. When my students’ newspaper was pulled from the stands by administration, they stepped in.
Despite FAC’s many worthy efforts to promote public access to government records, its commitment to transparency has become uneven in predictably partisan ways. For example, while generally supportive of the public’s right to monitor judicial proceedings, FAC seems curiously unperturbed by recent measures taken to cloak criminal conviction records in secrecy. Criminal records reveal the outcome of what is arguably the judiciary’s most important function. Expunging those records is the antithesis of transparency. FAC no doubt feels that concealing criminal records from public view furthers policy objectives that outweigh the public’s right to know. However well-intentioned might be FAC’s willingness to subordinate the public’s interest in this respect, it demonstrates that the organization’s devotion to transparency is less robust than advertised. FAC insists that “the public and press must be able to attend proceedings and access records used to determine consequential moments in people’s lives,” but its actions and inactions—including its refusal to oppose the expansive record-expungement legislation—tells a different story. Indeed, the stark contrast between FAC’s solicitude for convicted criminals and the ease with which it dismisses any justification offered for according privacy protections to, for example, police personnel records reveals that is its activism is not, as it claims, “nonpartisan.”
Gas lighting the truth is how corruption thrives and First Amendment Coalition was there for me when I needed to force my local government to give up public documents that they said were confidential. I will be forever grateful to their resources and staff.
Quick and thorough assistance and counsel for reporters struggling to get public records. Top notch professionalism and current knowledge of case law. We couldn't do what we do without FAC.
I operate a small non-profit organization that acquires and conducts analyses on government "public records." Frequently, the government agencies responsible for maintaining these records wrongfully reject my CPRA (California Public Records Act) requests. Thankfully, the First Amendment Coalition offers a comprehensive website and legal experts who have offered invaluable assistance in addressing these challenges. Without access to public records, government accountability and accurate reporting is impossible.
Sean Martin
The First Amendment Coalition does an amazing job of educating community members about how to obtain information about government activities at the local, state and national level. It also brings litigation to help ensure government transparency, and supports lawyers, the public and journalists who are fighting to end government secrecy. Government transparency is so essential to democracy, and FAC effectively advances transparency through its education and litigation.
The First Amendment Coalition is one of the most important Non-Profit organizations in the State of California. All local governments and public agencies need to be held accountable by the public but the resources of FAC are especially critical to hold government accountable in small towns and counties where the political infrastructure may be weak and susceptible to favoritism and corruption. There is a reason why the Right to Free Speech is our First Amendment and the work that FAC does in empowering public stakeholders is the necessary foundation from which all our collective rights and liberties flow from.
I am very, very impressed with the growth of FAC's programs over the last several years. The organization began as a nonprofit that, to a large extent, served the needs of California's journalism organizations in enforcing the states public records laws. Not only have they continued and, in fact, expanded their efforts in that crucial role, FAC has also consciously and methodically expanded their outreach to citizens and organizations around the state who have been blocked or stymied by local governments and law enforcement trying to keep the public in the dark. FAC's work is vitally important, and -- also impressive -- they do so much on a very modest budget.
The First Amendment Coalition has been a terrific community partner and has provided valuable trainings and resources for our reporter team.
The FAC does really important work in protecting everyone’s first amendment rights. This charity is responsive, fiscally very prudent, and serves a very important role in the nonprofit and public interest sector.
First Amendment Coalition was here when no one else was here to advise residents when residents thought their city governments were out of line. Fortunately, First Amendment persevered and is now a force. The organization serves the Common Good.
The First Amendment Coalition provides an invaluable resource for the public and journalists. Without the work of the FAC the public would be denied access to information essential to our democracy.