New England First Amendment Coalition

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November 2023

For nearly two decades, NEFAC has been supporting local newsrooms, the most trusted source of information about our communities. We provide reporting workshops, investigative journalism training, legal resources, open government tutorials and First Amendment advocacy.

We need your help to continue these much-needed services. Members of the NEFAC Board of Directors are reaching into their wallets to match the first $9,000 in donations received this week. Please help us meet this week-long fundraising goal.

MASSACHUSETTS

NEFAC, Civil Rights Advocates Argue for Release of Police Misconduct Records

The New England First Amendment Coalition joined several civil rights advocates to help prevent police secrecy in a Massachusetts public records case.

The case — Mack v. Office of the District Attorney of the Bristol District — involves an investigation into a fatal shooting by Fall River police. Family members are seeking records related to the investigation that a recent change in state law makes public.

The District Attorney, however, is misconstruing the law by denying access to those records, explained NEFAC and other advocates in an amicus curiae brief filed in the state's Supreme Judicial Court. [...]

FIRST AMENDMENT AND THE FREE PRESS

NEFAC Leads Presentations at National Journalism Education Conference

The New England First Amendment Coalition presented to journalism students from around the country at the Journalism Education Association's annual conference in Boston this month. The coalition also led a discussion on the First Amendment at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

NEFAC's “First Amendment and the Free Press” program highlights our constitutional freedoms and the democratic role journalism plays in our country. Email justin@nefac.org to book a speaker for your upcoming program or class.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

Online Access to State Court Documents: Lessons for All New England States Available

The lessons build on the information provided in NEFAC’s introduction to state court classes which can be viewed here. The remote classes are taught by local journalists who give step-by-step instruction on how to access judicial records online.

View Most Recent Lessons

MASSACHUSETTS

Todd Wallack

WBUR-Boston

VERMONT

Liam Elder-Connors

Vermont Public Radio

RHODE ISLAND

Tim White

WPRI-Providence

CONNECTICUT

Andrew Brown

CT Mirror

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Annmarie Timmins

New Hampshire Bulletin

MAINE

Sawyer Loftus

Bangor Daily News

FIRST AMENDMENT AND THE FREE PRESS

NEFAC Featured on Cranston Public Library's Down Time Podcast to Discuss Journalism

NEFAC’s Justin Silverman and Ed Fitzpatrick recently joined the library’s weekly podcast. Fitzpatrick shared his experience working as a journalist and how journalism has changed since he began. Silverman spoke to the importance of protecting the First Amendment and the free press for our democracy.

MORE NEFAC COMMENTARY

NH Supreme Court Rules Misconduct Files of Fired Trooper Cannot Be Kept Secret

First Amendment expert and lawyer Gregory V. Sullivan, who represents the Union Leader and is president of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said the Supreme Court’s decision removes an “attempted roadblock that was set up by the state police” to deny the public “its right to know what the government is up to.”

“This decision reflects the emphasis that the New Hampshire courts have placed in recent years on the importance of transparency regarding governmental misconduct,” Sullivan said. “As Superior Court Justice Andrew Schulman wrote, in the case of Union Leader Corporation v. the Town of Salem, ‘the audit report proves that bad things happen in the dark when the ultimate watchdogs of accountability — i.e. the voters and taxpayers — are viewed as alien rather than integral to the process of policing the police.’” [...]

Fall River is Appealing Its Public Records Lawsuit Loss. It Faces Thousands in Legal Bills

Attorney Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said the lawsuit and its outcome is “certainly a public records win, and sends a very strong message that you can’t just withhold records because there was some private agreement with the confidentiality clause.”

“It no way supersedes our right to know,” said Silverman. “It sends a strong message to Fall River that they can’t just withhold records because they want to. They must abide by the public records law.” [...]

Waltham Legal Opinion Chills Political Debate

Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said Cervone’s opinion appears to be based on a misunderstanding of the open meeting law by applying it to situations without a quorum. “If there isn’t a quorum present at public events, then it’s not a violation under the open meeting law,” Silverman said. [...]

Agency to Fork Up Nearly $200,000 for Shielding Public Records Related to Kennebec County Jail

“This is an interesting case and a needed one,” Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said recently.

While Maine’s freedom of information law allows those who prevail in public records lawsuits to recoup their legal fees if an agency is found to have exhibited bad faith in shielding them, Silverman said, no court had made a bad faith finding in a public records case since the origin of the Freedom of Access Act.

“It can be very burdensome for the public and for many newsrooms, quite frankly, to take these cases to court to force these government agencies to comply with the law and provide transparency and let us know what’s happening within government,” Silverman said. “This isn’t a matter of those in government providing information only when they feel that it’s convenient to do so. There is a state law that requires these public records to be disclosed.” [...]

MORE FOI & FIRST AMENDMENT NEWS

National / Regional

Supreme Court, First Amendment

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Connecticut

Freedom of Religion

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Maine

Massachusetts

Turtleboy, Karen Read Case

Governor's Office, Transparency

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New Hampshire

Hate Speech

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Rhode Island

Public Employees, Speech

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Vermont

Thank You to Our Supporters

NEFAC appreciates the support of all its donors and contributors. In particular, we would like to recognize the Estate of Gloria Negri and the following Leadership Circle donors ($10,000+) and Major Supporters ($2,500-$9,999):

LEADERSHIP CIRCLE

Rhode Island Foundation

The Boston Globe

Paul and Ann Sagan

The Robertson Foundation

MAJOR SUPPORTERS

Boston University

Hearst Conn. Media Group

Academy of New England Journalists

Genie Gannett for the First Amendment Museum

Linda Pizzuti Henry

Champa Charitable Foundation Fund

Connecticut Public

WBUR-Boston