New England First Amendment Coalition |
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The goal of Sunshine Week — March 12-18 this year with related events occurring throughout the month — is to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. NEFAC celebrated the occasion in several ways: |
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NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman wrote an op/ed about the need for permanent changes to state laws allowing hybrid access to government meetings. The op/ed appeared in more than 30 publications across the region.
“New England states have resorted to a patchwork of live streams, short-term remote meeting requirements, and in some cases, reverted back to pre-COVID policies and in-person meetings only,” Silverman wrote. “There’s a better way forward.”
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PRESS COMMENTARY
In addition to Silverman's op/ed, NEFAC's commentary and advocacy appeared in publications across New England.
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PROGRAMS
In partnership with local and regional organizations, NEFAC also hosted programs on sunshine laws in New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
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Keeping the Light On in New Hampshire
Casey McDermott (moderator) | NHPR
Gilles Bissonnette | ACLU of New Hampshire
Hon. N. William Delker | N.H. Superior Court
Emily Gray Rice | City of Manchester Solicitor
Gregory V. Sullivan | NEFAC
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Connecticut: Open Meetings
and Public Commentary
William S. Fish, Jr., at Hinckley Allen, explains the state’s Freedom of Information Act and when public officials are able to restrict citizen speech.
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Rhode Island: Open Meetings
and Public Commentary
This lesson is taught by Raymond A. Marcaccio, co-founder of Oliverio & Marcaccio LLP. He represents local newsrooms and brings government access claims.
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“When information involves a matter of public concern, the First Amendment protects publishers from both prior restraint and subsequent punishment, absent a demonstrated need to vindicate a state interest of the ‘highest order’,” wrote NEFAC and the ACLU of Massachusetts in a March 2 amicus brief.
The groups submitted the brief in Berge v. School Committee of Gloucester, et. al., a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The plaintiff in the case openly recorded a video in a public school building without violating any law and then published the video online. School officials demanded the plaintiff remove the video by falsely claiming he violated a state wiretapping statute. [...]
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NEFAC and the Student Press Law Center recently hosted a discussion on student journalism as part of the third annual Massachusetts Civic Learning Week. The state-wide celebration is organized by the Massachusetts Civics Learning Coalition in partnership with students, teachers and other community organizations from across the state. All students and educators were invited to attend. [...]
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Whether you are a student journalist or a seasoned professional, pitching a story can be a challenge.
By viewing this lesson, you’ll learn: (1) why pitching a story is a critical skill for journalists of all backgrounds and employment status (2) how to develop relationships with those who will be considering your pitch and (3) how to craft and deliver the most effective pitch for your stories.
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New England First Amendment Coalition Executive Director Justin Silverman recently joined hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan to explore government transparency concerns in Massachusetts.
The three discussed the state’s public records law, legislation to require hybrid access to government meetings and why everyone in the state should wave the banner for more sunshine in the Commonwealth.
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FIRST AMENDMENT AND THE FREE PRESS
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NEFAC recently visited Wayland (Mass.) High School as part of its First Amendment and the Free Press program. The coalition will soon be speaking at Roger Williams University, the University of Massachusetts, the New England Scholastic Press Association Conference and the Rhode Island Library Association's annual conference. |
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Justin Silverman, attorney and director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said the denial of the hoax call transcripts “violates FOAA” and that not everything on a police record, or 911 transcript, is confidential. There are parts, such as time the call was made, or where the call came into, that would not jeopardize an investigation. “This information should be released,” said Silverman. “You can’t withhold an entire document because it would be redacted. Redact what you can under the law and release everything else.” [...]
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According to Massachusetts Freedom of Information laws, the police can rely on an “ongoing investigation” exemption to withhold the videos from the public, said Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, which identifies and monitors First Amendment issues in six New England states, including Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Silverman was not aware of any Massachusetts guidelines that require police to release the videos before the investigation is complete. In Connecticut, officials, including the state’s inspector general who independently investigates incidents of police use of force, must release body or dash camera footage within 96 hours of an incident.
“Generally speaking, the investigatory exemption is one of the more abused exemptions in Massachusetts,” Silverman said. [...]
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“The whole policy smacks in the face of what the Right to Know and Part 1 Article 8 of the New Hampshire constitution calls for, which is open, responsive and accountable government,” said Greg Sullivan, the president of the New England First Amendment Coalition. “Destroying records with such rapidity just seems to be counter to both the spirit and the letter of the law.” Sullivan said such a policy does not promote the core goals of democracy. [...]
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Part of the problem, according to Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, is that “we have to take the word of the particular agency or public official that they’ve gone through all their texts.”
“There isn’t a whole lot of recourse for requesters when they’re in a situation like that,” said Silverman. If texts are being sent and received by government employees and then deleted a short time later, that would represent a “major red flag,” he said.
Regarding the city’s response to the request for Wu’s texts, Silverman said, “It doesn’t seem right that all text messages would be considered transitory under this policy.”
“Text messages can be as long as an e-mail or other communication subject to the public records law,” he said. “Messages as short as a single word can be significant when considered collectively with other texts in an exchange.” [...]
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Portland lawyer Sigmund Schutz, a member of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said that the city’s explanation on the agenda was vague, but the city’s ability to discuss legal rights and duties with their attorney is “somewhat broad.”
“A hot issue around the State has been ‘First Amendment audits’,” Schutz said via email. “The First Amendment covers a fair bit of territory. They certainly could be more precise without giving [away] the game vis-a-vis any confidential or sensitive legal advice they intend to solicit.” [...]
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“Gov. Healey has the opportunity to bring transparency to her office like she promised she would,” said Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, a nonprofit that promotes access to government information. “But it’s becoming more clear with every records denial, that she doesn’t have any intention of doing so.”
Silverman said Healey appears to be following the same practice. “It’s become a matter of convenience, if it’s convenient to release records, the governor’s office will do so,” he said. And if not, he said, the office can cite the court decision to say it isn’t obligated to provide the records. [...]
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Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said that while the coronavirus is still spreading, using a hybrid format that bars access to the public due to Covid-era policies is rare. He said that while government bodies around the country are reckoning with how to balance safety and public access, it’s essential that regulatory bodies provide as much access as possible.
“Government bodies should be going out of their way to provide public access, both in-person and remotely. So if they’re turning people away out of Covid concerns, but there are accommodations that they can reasonably make, maybe as easy as just changing the location of the meeting to a larger room, then those accommodations should be made,” Silverman said. “We should expect all those government bodies to make those accommodations.” [...]
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MORE FOI & FIRST AMENDMENT NEWS
National / Regional
SCOTUS, Free Speech
Federal Government, Social Media
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Connecticut
'Cops Ahead' Sign, Speech Restrictions
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Maine
Vanity Plates, First Amendment
FOAA, Police Records
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Massachusetts
State Government, Transparency
'Civility' Ordinances, Town Meetings
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New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Vermont
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Thank You to Our Supporters |
NEFAC appreciates the support of all its donors and volunteers. In particular, we would like to thank the following Leadership Circle donors ($10,000+) and Major Supporters ($2,500-$9,999) for their contributions:
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LEADERSHIP CIRCLE
Rhode Island Foundation
Hearst Conn. Media Group
The Boston Globe
Paul and Ann Sagan
The Robertson Foundation
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MAJOR SUPPORTERS
Boston University
WBUR-Boston
Academy of New England Journalists
SPJ Foundation
Genie Gannett for the First Amendment Museum
Linda Pizzuti Henry
Champa Charitable Foundation Fund
Connecticut Public
GBH-Boston
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