ABSTRACT

An informed public must have access to information about government and about public health, product safety, and climate change. This chapter discusses the law of access to the legislative and administrative branches of government and to news events. It discusses the Supreme Court's First Amendment rulings on access to government-controlled installations. The chapter discusses the law of access to public property, quasi-public property, and war zones. It also treats federal and state laws controlling access to government records and meetings. A federal appeals court ruled unconstitutional a Washington State statute prohibiting interviews of voters within 300 feet of a polling place. Quasi-public property is land that serves a public purpose but is not available for use by the general public. The discussion of records laws begins with an analysis of the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the law controlling documents held by federal agencies. A federal "sunshine law" requires several executive agencies to meet in public.