Calif. Free Speech and Open Government Assembly, Oct. 25-26

REGISTER NOW FOR FREE SPEECH & OPEN GOVERNMENT ASSEMBLY, USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL, OCT. 25 & 26 

CFAC's 12th Annual Free Speech and Open Government Assembly brings together the best and brightest of law, journalism and public policy.  New Yorker magazine writer Jeffrey Toobin will be there, discussing secrecy and the US Supreme Court. Hear National Journal columnist and Newsweek contributor  Stuart Taylor on his new book about the rush to (mis)judgment in the Duke rape case.  Raise a glass of wine to honor Sandy Close, champion of ethnic media as head of New American Media and Pacific News Service.

And check out a dozen debates and panel discussions, including: 

--Going to Jail to Protect Confidential Sources, with former NY Times reporter  Judith Miller and videographer Josh Wolf  (both of whom went to jail), San Francisco Chronicle reporter Lance Williams (who nearly did),  Ted Boutrous, Supreme Court lawyer for Time Magazine and Time reporter Matt Cooper, and Pulitzer-winning reporter Martha Mendoza as moderator.

--Citizen Media, with LAObserved editor Kevin Roderick,  Xeni Jardin of NPR and Boing Boing, Center for Citizen Media founder Dan Gillmor, and technology lawyer & blogger Denise Howell.

--Personal Privacy vs. Public Access, with Nicole Wong of Google, LA Times editorial page editor Jim Newton, Boalt Hall privacy advocate Chris Jay Hoofnagle, and Clark Kelso, McGeorge law professor and Governor Schwarzenegger's chief IT officer.

Take in still more forums on:  social networking; national security secrecy; immigration reporting;  tribal secrecy; California's secret police; foreign laws and the internet; access to public records and meetings--and more, all featuring leading lawyers, journalists, new media maivens, policy wonks and other experts. 

Whether you attend for just two hours or two full days, your intellectual batteries--and your faith in First Amendment principles--will be recharged. REGISTER TODAY and save 50%

REGISTRATION:
Early Registration (by October 10) - $25 (includes free parking)

College students and Annenberg School faculty: Early Registration (by October 10) -- Free 

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Sources and Shields
Going to jail to protect original source materials or confidential sources: Does this act of "contempt" of a court order place a journalist "above the law," or preserve the trust required for journalists to serve the public's right to know? Two journalists who went to jail and one who faced jail time describe their experiences, and talk about the prospect of a federal shield law. Moderator: Martha Mendoza; Panelists: Judith Miller, Josh Wolf, Lance Williams, Ted Boutrous Jr.

Did I Really Post That?
Increasing numbers of students are discovering to their dismay that comments and images they post on social-networking websites, and unflattering (and worse) comments and files  that others post about them, are not easily removed from the internet. Earlier generations' youthful mistakes were quickly forgotten; will employers and graduate schools be as forgiving when evidence of  one's indiscretions are only a Google search away? Will a future presidential candidate have to explain something he or she posted on FaceBook 30 years before? Moderator: Tom Clanin, Panelists: Genelle Belmas, Marti Longworth, Jackie Kimmel.

National security and government secrecy.
This panel will demystify and debate several of the federal government's most controversial tools for gathering intelligence information and for keeping that information secret. These include the FBI's use of secret subpoenas---so-called "National Security Letters"---to obtain information on individuals or organizations without their knowledge. Also, the NSA's access to, and use of, email and phone communications in two ways: 1) for a large volume of communications, the sifting through metadata in search of patterns and links; and 2) for a (presumably) much smaller number of communications, the interception, usually subject to the recently amended FISA law, of the actual content of the messages. Lastly, the panel will  explore the government's use of the "state secrets" privilege to abort judicial inquiry into these and other government secrets. Panelists: Scott Armstrong, John Sims, Kevin Bankston.

Applying Old Age laws to a New Age Internet
The legal system can't possibly keep up with the pace of technological change, but that doesn't stop lawyers, courts and legislatures from applying 20th Century legal principles to a 21st Centurt internet. This panel will examine restrictions on internet expression posed by laws of foreign nations, lawsuits filed abroad that punish speech and content in the US, and restraints from expanding copyright and other intellectual property protections. The panel will also explore issues created by "unfiltered" speakers, such as videos posted on YouTube and anonymous bloggers who say things they might not if they were identified. Moderator:  Guylyn Cummins; Panelists: Jonathan Anschell, Nicole Wong, Jan Constantine, Fred von Lohmann.

Tribal Sovereignty or Secrecy?
Indian gaming is now a $30 billion a year industry. As it grows, so do questions about tribal sovereignty. Journalists, citizen groups and tribal members themselves increasingly find a rocky path in obtaining crucial information from secretive tribal governments. A mounting wave of explusions of tribal members has now brought the issue of the limits and scope of sovereignty to the courts. Moderator: Marc Cooper. Panelists: Steve Maganini, Cheryl Schmidt, John Gomez.

Personal privacy vs. Public access.
The tension between protecting personal privacy on one hand, and enhancing public access to government information on the other, is an enduring conflict in contemporary politics. Key issues fanning the tension are identity-theft and the security of personalized data gathered by internet search engines. Can we find common ground? Moderator: Jim Newton. Panelists: Nicole Wong, Chris Hoofnagle, Clark Kelso.

Our Secret Police
Police in California enjoy special privacy protections and exemptions from access laws. This panel will consider the extent and  consequences of this special status. Journalism students at Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Long Beach will report on allegations of police misconduct that have disappeaed into the black hole of legally sanctioned  police secrecy, comparing California's experience to other states. Panelists will also report on the status of  proposed legislation designed to unlock police secrets in the golden state.

Current Developments in Access Law
This panel will provide an overview of the latest legal and legislative developments in access law, including: new state Supreme Court decisions on access to government salaries and police IDs; the uncertain status of elected officials' email; educating state agencies to abide by access rules; and local governments' abuse of the "deliberative process" privilege. In addition, panelists will discuss federal FOIA, declassification, and state agencies' emerging strategy of using U.S. Department of Homeland Security regulations to block access to state and local government records.

Investigative Reporting Using Digital Mapping Technology
Recent litigation is forcing California counties to provide access to highly accurate, digital maps. The availability of various databases that are linked to these maps, from real estate boundaries and appraisals to demographic data and crime statistics, makes possible reporting--on, for example, performance of  local agencies, analyses of government spending--that could not  be done previously. This panel will hear from legal and technical experts.  Journalists will also demonstrate the use of GIS digital mapping technology in news reporting.

Immigration: The Push and Pull
After the failure of comprehensive immigration reform in the last Congress, the journalistic and legal topography of the immigration issue continues to shift. Can the media (both English language and ethnic) stay ahead of the reporting curve?  What are the particular problems in reporting on advocacy for those who lack legal status.

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Jeffrey Toobin,  New Yorker  writer and author of the newly released book, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court (Doubleday, 2007).

Stuart Taylor, journalist, lawyer and author of 2007 book,  Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case (St. Martin's Press, 2007).

Leadership Award recipient: Sandy Close, acclaimed journalist, Macarthur Award winner, and Executive Director of New America Media and Pacific News Service, for her championing of freedom and opportunity for immigrants, children and ethnic media in California and across the country.

MEALS, REFRESHMENTS**