FAC has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a California Statute. Courtesy photo

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - FAC has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a California statute that, contrary to the First Amendment, authorizes government attorneys to seek civil penalties against people who publish any information related to a sealed arrest record, regardless of how the information was acquired or how newsworthy it is.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and FAC attorneys represent the plaintiffs — FAC, FAC Advocacy Director Ginny LaRoe, and First Amendment scholar and blogger Eugene Volokh — in the case. As explained in the complaint, the statute chills FAC’s, LaRoe’s, and Volokh’s speech about sealed records of an arrest. Read our op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle, "San Francisco should not be part of tech executive's censorship campaign."

Our case has already led to an interim victory: The defendants, California’s Attorney General and San Francisco’s City Attorney, have agreed to a preliminary injunction prohibiting them from enforcing the statute over sharing publicly available information about this arrest. We will continue to litigate this important First Amendment case and seek a permanent injunction