A Note from the NEFAC Board of Directors: Our regional legal fund relies on matching grants and we need to raise $12,000 by May 31 to unlock $50,000 in additional support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Please help us reach this goal by making a donation to the fund today. Thank you.
 
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New England First Amendment Coalition

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May 2026
 

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Police and Criminal Records

• Mills Vetoes Bill That Would Automatically Seal Some Criminal Records | Portland Press Herald


• ACLU, University Spar in Court Over Public Access to DPS Arrest Records | The Brown Daily Herald 


• Calls Grow for Release of Body Camera Footage of Fatal Boston Police Shooting | WBUR 


• After Lawsuit, Northwestern DA’s Office Releases Brady Records Naming Officers | Greenfield Recorder 



I also share the concerns . . . that automatically sealing criminal records unduly burdens the First Amendment.


Janet Mills | Governor of Maine

 

Open Government

• Advocates and Lawmakers at Odds Over Transparency Ballot Questions | Boston University News Service 


• Connecticut Officials Argue They Don’t Have to Release Some Public Records | Stamford Advocate 


• City Council to Take Public Records Law Training After Planning Board Appointments Kerfuffle | Laconia Daily Sun 


• Massachusetts the Only State Where Gov., Judiciary and Legislature are Exempt From Public Records Law | Boston Herald 




The inability of the public to observe and understand how bills are being shaped in committee, and to see committee members debating and voting in public, feeds cynicism and distrust in the legislation.


Jonathan Hecht | Attorney and Former Massachusetts State Representative
 
 

Other News We're Tracking
 

Youth, Social Media and Free Speech


• How Would Proposed Age Restrictions on Social Media Use Actually Work? | CommonWealth Beacon


• In First Ruling of Its Kind, Mass. High Court Says Meta Not Shielded From Lawsuits Over Addictive Features | CommonWealth Beacon 


• Massachusetts House Passes Youth Social Media Ban Over Privacy, Big Tech Concerns | State House News Service 


• Private Platforms and Public Speech: Rethinking the First Amendment in the Social Media Age | Vermont Law Review 





Growing Threats Against Press Freedom


• Trump Says CNN May Have Committed a Crime. The First Amendment Says Otherwise | Poynter 


• Judge Dismisses Trump’s Lawsuit Against Wall Street Journal and Murdoch | The Guardian 


• Judge Blocks Pentagon’s Latest Bid to Limit Press Access in Scathing Ruling | CNN


• First Amendment Advocates Blast the FCC's Early Review of ABC Broadcast Licenses | NBC News 





Also On Our Radar . . .


• Supreme Court Sides with Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Subpoena Battle | Politico


• Rümeysa Öztürk Settles with U.S. Government and Returns to Turkey | GBH 


• Healey Move on Vital Records Wrong Fight, Wrong Time | The Boston Globe 
 
 
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 L. Negri, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, 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 Connecticut Media Group

Academy of New England Journalists

Truro News
 

The New England First Amendment Coalition | 111 Milk Street | Westborough, MA 01581 US

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