Thursday, May 20, 2004

AP Boss Curley Declares Campaign Against Government Secrecy   Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley has announced a plan to strengthen his organization's advocacy of open government. He unveiled it May 7, 2004, in Riverside, CA, as he spoke in the Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture series. "The powerful have to be watched, and we are the watchers," Curley said, "and you don't need to have your notebook snatched by a policeman to know that keeping an eye on government activities has lately gotten a lot harder."   Curley said, according to an AP story, that the AP will continue doing open records compliance audits at the state level. He said that state AP bureau chiefs will monitor whether still and video cameras have access to state and federal courtrooms, and that AP will mount legal challenges when access is denied. Full story .... 12:51:24 PM

Hello, Sailor: Judge Tosses Prosecution of Greenpeace for Speech   A US district judge in Florida threw out a US Justice Dept. prosecution of Greenpeace protesters for political speech under an antique maritime law May 19, 2004. It was a personal defeat to Attorney General John Ashcroft, and an embarrassing failure for his department's policy of aggressive attacks on First Amendment rights in the name of "security."   Miami District Judge Adalberto Jordan did not make the ruling on grounds related to protection of free speech under the first amendment. He directed an acquital on technical and evidentiary grounds in the second day of the trial, after the prosecutors had presented their case and Greenpeace lawyer Jane Moscowitz had moved for a dismissal. Miami Herald story. Fuller coverage and links... 11:11:59 AM