1st Amendment and Free Speech/public's right to know

Advertisement

Expert: - 7/27/2003


Question

Dear Mr. Troy,
I'm yael, a first year law student from israel.  I currently work on a project involving the "public's right to know" and the "right to know in light of the freedom of information".
I would like to know the latest ruling in this subject and the resent public discussion and it's results.What is the leading case (from the last few years)? what doctrine and rules leads the court decision?
I send my thanks in advance,
sincerely,
yael  

Answer
Hi Yael,

The First Amendment, nor any other clause in the Constitution generally does not give people the right to access information held by the government.  The right to receive government information comes from a law called the "Freedom of Information Act" (FOIA).  FOIA was first passed in 1966 and significantly amended in 1974 following the Watergate scandal.

For a list of cases regarding Supreme Court rulings on FOIA, try here:

http://www.accessreports.com/statutes/commentary/COURTS.htm

You can look up any of those cases here:

http://www.findlaw.com

You may also find this site helpful:

http://archive.aclu.org/library/foia.html#introduction

I hope this helps!
- Mike  

1st Amendment and Free Speech

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Michael Troy

Expertise

I will answer general questions regarding freedom of speech, petition, or religion. I specialize in cases involving public employment or education, as well as issues related to campaign finance. But I can`t give specific legal advice involving specific cases you might have.

Experience

As an attorney for the Center for Individual Rights, I worked on a number of free speech cases, including Rosenberger v. Univ. of Virginia, in which the Supreme Court upheld my clients' right to run a student newspaper without discrimination because of its religious conent. I also worked on White v. Julian, which protected the right of people to protest against a homeless shelter in their neighborhood.

I also worked for the Federal Election Commission on several cases regarding the right to participate in the election process.

Organizations
Former Attorney for Center for Individual Rights.

Publications
Washington Post
Washington Times

Education/Credentials
J.D. from Univ. of Michigan Law School

Awards and Honors
Truman Scholar

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.