An Orwellian decision about free speech

Here’s a “Steve Rocco” story that will blow the black knit-cap and dark glasses clean off your head.

Back in 2006, Rocco made some typically unpleasant remarks during a meeting of the Orange Unified School District’s board. He was censured by his colleagues.

How very unseemly.

The school superintendent decided to edit out Rocco’s remarks in the DVD that served as a record of the meeting (sent to the press, I believe). But hey, the public has a right to know what goes on during meetings of its legislative bodies (the term for such elected entities as school boards and city councils). So an “open-government” group called Californians Aware sued to get the tape of the whole meeting. They asked the Orange County Superior Court to overturn the board's censure and declare the editing illegal.

Seems reasonable enough.

I do believe that OUSD’s attorney is/was Spencer Covert. (See Covert defends the covert). Yes Covert. You remember him. He’s the guy who defended the SOCCCD board against two open meetings lawsuits back in the late 90s. He lost. (UPDATE: apparently, the OUSD attorney was Michael Travis, who works for Parker & Covert LLP. See Professor to bear burden of failed suit against Orange County school district, in the Times, 3/21/09.)

Well, OUSD turned around and counter-sued Californians Aware using the state’s anti-SLAPP statute. That’s the law that protects critics from the expensive and burdensome litigation used by powerful interests to shut them down. (See A brief history of our district, "Mathur sues Dissent.")

Stunningly, the judge ruled in favor of the OUSD board, evidently agreeing that Cal Aware was attempting to stifle free speech when it sought to hear what went on during an OUSD board meeting!

An appeal to the state Supremes went nowhere.

The upshot: Cal Aware and its former president, Richard McKee, owe OUSD $86,000. It’s a ruinous amount.

Orwellian. That’s the word they’re using to describe this case. (See Bauer's 1st Amendment battles: Federal court preliminaries for another "Orwellian" episode.)

Read about it here and
here.

The latter is by Kevin Roderick, who quotes journalist Gary Scott:

I don't know of a newspaper in Southern California that hasn't benefited from McKee's work, either through his court victories or his free advice. Indeed, McKee often gave reporters just the boost they needed to get over the wall of obfuscation put up by government agencies trying to shield their corruption, or embarrassment, or plain bad decision-making.

First Amendment advocate Terry Francke says that McKee's wages have garnished and a lien has been placed on his home by the Orange County school district. He’s also paid $59,000 through a second trust deed on his home.

UPDATE: a lawyer friend sent me some information that suggests that, though CalAware's situation is indeed Orwellian, part of the blame should be fixed on that organization's lawyers, who failed to use powerful arguments that were available to them. Further, it may well be that the full tape of the board meeting in question was indeed available to CalAware, though some parts were edited out on the DVD prepared by OUSD's Superintendent. —RB

UPDATE: the above is, I think, confirmed by the Times story cited above.

See also Fuentes & the OUSD.

MORE NEWS:

• Daffo. Altan of OC Weekly (Spa Getaway Bites Ex-Superintendent in the Butt) reports that the Capo Unified School District board might have had good grounds for firing Superintendent Woodrow Carter. Check out Altan's post.

• OC Reg: Report: Ex-Capistrano schools chief 'insubordinate'

• On Marla Jo Fisher’s College Life blog: UC senior management won’t get their bonuses this year

• I'm a Raghu