CFAC Publications

For journalists, civic activists, attorneys and public officials in California who wish to research and feel confident about the rights of access to meetings and information.

The California Journalist's Legal Notebook

The New Brown Act

1998 Edition - with supplemental update

The California Journalist's
Legal Notebook

How to Keep Open Meetings Open
and Public Meetings Public

by Terry Francke
former General Counsel, California First Amendment Coalition

Contents

• Includes supplemental update of cases since 1998.
• A section-by-section explanation of the Brown Act -- California's open-meetings law -- including what situations it applies to; when closed sessions are and are not legal (with special tips on public records alternatives to closed-session information); the rights of citizen speakers and public officials; and what to do about violations.
• A thorough explanation of the California Public Records Act, including rules affecting delay and cost; where the most commonly cited exemptions from disclosure apply; a list of "Dos and Don'ts" for using the law effectively; a sample request letter; and what can be done when records are withheld.
• A survey of the most current laws affecting press passes, trespass, leaked documents, blackballing by public officials, gags on sources, special risks of telephone interviews, and the use and misuse of cameras, tape recorders, scanners, cordless and portable phones, and computers. New sections on court access and the shield law are also featured.

Organization

Arranged for optimum ease of use, the Legal Notebook features more helpful points of reference than any comparable guide:

• A comprehensive table of contents and index makes it easy to quickly check the law on a particular issue, either by topic or key words and phrases.
• A comprehensive table of authorities provides quick reference to any of the more than 300 cases, attorney general's opinions and code sections discussed in the text -- ideal for checking on public officials when they cite the law to deny access to meetings and records.

Author

The Legal Notebook was written by former California First Amendment Coalition attorney Terry Francke, who has spent more than two decades fielding hotline calls from reporters, photographers, editors, publishers, news directors, attorneys, public officials, citizen activists and others. During his 10 years as legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association, he established the original editions of its Reporter's Handbook on Media Law. Francke drafted the 1994 revisions to the California Ralph M. Brown Act, and is sought by elected officials for his views on a variety of issues relating to public access.

Design

The Legal Notebook comes in two sizes: a full-sized desk reference and a pocket edition. Both volumes are spiral-bound so that they open completely and lie flat. The pocket edition is the same size as a standard reporter's notepad.

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