Term
| How many public officials have to be present in a “meeting” in which they discuss public business matters for that meeting to be subject to the Sunshine Law? (p. 9 of the Citizens Guide) |
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Definition
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Term
| Are meetings between city councils and city attorneys in which they discuss pending litigation involving the city exempted? |
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Definition
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Term
| Are Advisory committees involved in fact-finding activities exempt? |
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Definition
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Term
| Are University committees searching for a new dean exempt? |
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Definition
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Term
| Are Grand Jury proceedings exempt? |
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Definition
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Term
| Strategic decisions between a governmental body and its chief officer prior to negotiations exempt? |
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Definition
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Term
| Who can access Florida government records? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
a. School board meetings? Yes
b. Information dealing with University Committees? Yes
c. Information dealing with a public hospital’s advisory board? Yes
d. Telephone conference calls between city officials and other public officials? Yes |
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Term
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Definition
a. Police arrest and crime reports? Yes
b. County and municipal budgets? Yes
c. Information involving juvenile offenders? No
d. Educational records? No
e. Police records involving sexually abused victims? No |
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Term
Citizen’s Guide
The first 10 questions in the exam cover the Citizen’s Guide. You need to know what types of items are or are not exempt under the Florida Sunshine Law and Public Records Law. Know what items, under these laws, are closed off to the press and public and which are not. |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the Buckley Amendment? |
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Definition
a. What was it passed to protect? Student educational records
b. What is it trying to safeguard against?
c. Who does it apply to?
d. What kind of information are schools permitted to disclose under Buckley? Directory information, weight and height of student-athletes. NOT GRADES AND HEALTH INFORMATION. |
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Term
| What are the Freedom of Information Act exemptions? |
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Definition
| 1. National Security information. 2. Agency Rules and Practices. 3. Statutory Exemptions (Homeland security, privacy, Student education records, Student law enforcement records, Student disciplinary records, driver’s records). 4. Confidential Business Information. 5. Agency memoranda (includes pre-decisional memoranda). 6. Personnel, medical, and similar files. 7. Law enforcement. 8. Banking reports. 9. Information about wells. |
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Term
| What kinds of records does the Act allow access to? |
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Definition
i. Records held by Congress? No
ii. Records held by the Federal Judiciary? No
iii. Records held by Federal Agencies? Yes
iv. State or local government agencies? No
v. Under Buckley can schools release students’ grades and class rank? No. Only directory information (student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, attendance record, field of study, degrees, and participation in official activities.
1. Can they release students’ health information? No |
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Term
| What is the Freedom of Information Act? |
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Definition
| Federal act intended to open up most government records to public scrutiny and for copying. Applies to federal agencies only. |
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Term
| What are the requirements under The Freedom of Information Act? |
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Definition
| Must be agency records (“any executive department, military department, government corporation, government controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the government, . . . or any independent regulatory agency” DOES NOT include the president or the president’s advisers. Nor does it apply to Congress records or to the federal courts. Record (documents, tape recordings, photos, and computerized printouts. NOT physical objects). Person (citizens of foreign countries and persons acting on behalf of organizations, media companies, and public interests groups, included). Request (informal or formal. Formal requires filing paperwork. Request should be dealt with within 20 days unless “unusual circumstances” delay the process). Fee (persons requesting information for commercial purpose are the only ones that have to pay a fee. Everyone else gets 2 free hours of searching and 100 free pages for copying) |
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Term
| Why was The Freedom of Information Act passed? What was its purpose? |
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Definition
| Give the public access to government records. “Foster democracy” |
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Term
| What kinds of records does the Freedom of Information Act allow access to? |
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Definition
i. Records held by Congress? No
ii. Records held by the Federal Judiciary? No
iii. Records held by Federal Agencies? Yes
iv. State or local government agencies? No |
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Term
How Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller these two involved with the Valerie Plame
controversy? |
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Definition
| Reporters who wrote stories that identified Valerie Plame as a CIA operative. They were ordered by the court to disclose their sources, but refused to comply. |
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Term
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Definition
Reporter for NYT who initially refused to disclose
who leaked Valerie Plame???s name to the press but then said it
was Scooter Libby |
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Term
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Definition
Another reporter in the Valerie Plame scandal who
first refused to, the agreed to testify after his lawyers talked
with Karl Rove, who allegedly gave Cooper an indication from his
source freeing him from his commitment to keep his source's
identity secret. |
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Term
| Is there a federal statutory privilege for journalists? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the purpose of a state shield law? What is it protecting journalists from? |
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Definition
State shield laws allows journalists
to protect their sources by giving journalists the write not to
disclose them |
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Term
| How many states have shield laws? |
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Definition
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Term
| What happens when a journalist does not comply with a court order to disclose confidential sources? What could happen to this journalist? |
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Definition
| Would probably be held in contempt of court and would be imprisoned and fined. Fine would accrue every day the court order was not follwed. |
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Term
| What is the Privacy Protection Act? Why was it passed? |
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Definition
| Gave reporters and journalists protections against government search warrants. This was a response to Zurcher v. Stanford Daily |
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Term
| How did the Federal Government and state governments react to the USSC’s holding in Zurcher v. Stanford Daily? |
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Definition
| Feds passed the Privacy Protection Act and states passed shield laws |
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Term
| What dangers are Government officials trying to prevent by getting a search warrant as opposed requesting a subpoena? |
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Definition
| The government may fear that subpoenas would give journalists notice and destroy, later, or hide the information the government is trying to obtain via a subpoena. |
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Term
What are the differences between search warrants and
subpoenas? |
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Definition
Subpoenas requires reporters to testify in court of
produce documents for the court, but the recipient of a subpoena
can challenge it during a hearing. A search warrant, however,
allows no opportunity for a journalist to prepare a response and
no opportunity for a court challenge. It allows law enforcement
officers to make unannounced searches for journalist???s notes and
photographs. A subpoena, theoretically, allows a journalist to
destroy evidence. |
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Term
| Why would the Government want to use a search warrant over a subpoena? |
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Definition
| Don’t have to serve the subpoena on a journalist. The government can just show up and execute a search without the journalist’s permission or compliance. |
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Term
| What is a Motion to Quash? |
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Definition
| A motion asking the court to invalidate the original subpoena |
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Term
| How do you challenge a subpoena? |
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Definition
| File a motion to quash subpoena |
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Term
| 6. What should you do if you are a journalist who has been ordered, through subpoena, to testify but you do not want to testify? What should you do? |
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Definition
| Challenge the order by filing a motion to squash the subpoena. |
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Term
| What must the government show in order to overcome qualified privilege? |
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Definition
i. The information sought is clearly relevant
ii. There are no other sources for the information
iii. There is a compelling need for the information |
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Term
| What is a qualified privilege? |
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Definition
| A limited First Amendment protection provided to reporters. Key word is limited. |
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Term
| What amendment provides the greatest protection against searches? |
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Definition
| ii. 4th? This one. Protects individuals from unwarranted search and seizures by Government officials. |
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Term
| What did the USSC finally decide as to Cohen’s case? |
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Definition
| Recovery under a theory of promissory estoppel is possible. |
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Term
| What was the state of affairs between news sources and journalists like before this case was decided? |
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Definition
| Sources could not seek remedy on a theory of promissory estoppel. |
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Term
| What are the promissory estoppel elements? |
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Definition
1. There was a clear and definite promise made by the journalist that was breached
2. The defendant intended to induce reliance by the plaintiff
3. The plaintiff relied to his detriment on the promise
4. An injustice can be avoided only be enforcement of the promise |
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Term
| What did the majority say in Brannzenburg v. Hayes, and why? |
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Definition
No privilege, reporters, like other citizens, have a duty to testify in grand jury proceedings. Part of their civic duty.
b. What did the minority say, and why? There may be a qualified privilege under certain circumstances.
c. What did Justice Powell, the middleman, say, and why? He implied that Journalists have more of a First Amendment protection than the majority proposed. Needs of law enforcement and journalists should be balanced on a case-by-case basis. |
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Term
| Know Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. |
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Definition
What must a plaintiff establish in order to recover damages
under a promissory estoppel theory? (1) Offer (2) Acceptance (3)
Consideration (4) Breach |
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Term
| Can a journalist rely on a constitutional privilege to disobey a court order? Not really. Is there such a privilege? |
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Definition
| No explicit privilege, but states have passed laws granting reporters and journalists some privileges. |
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Term
| What does Branzburg v. Hayes say? |
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Definition
| There may be one. The Court, while delivering a opinion saying no to a privilege, was so divided that many interpret the case as to vague to be determinative on the issue of a reporter’s privilege. |
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Term
| What is the USSC position on cameras in the courtroom? |
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Definition
| They are allowed, but the states decide whether they will allow them or not. Not a constitutional issue. State issue, and maybe even a local issue. |
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Term
| Distinguish what is allowed in the federal court system from what is allowed in individual state court systems. |
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Definition
| States decide whether they will allow cameras in courts within their jurisdiction. Cameras are not allowed in district courts, but can be allowed in appellate courts (up to the appellate court to decide whether they will have cameras or not). |
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