News

MFIA Wins Important Victory in Data Access Case
The MFIA Clinic at Yale Law School secured an important victory when the New York Supreme Court granted a petition seeking access to data about the telecommunications conduit infrastructure beneath the streets of New York City.

MFIA Clinic Proposes Changes to Sealing Rules
Media Freedom and Information Access (MFIA) Clinic at Yale Law School issued a report summarizing the results of its six-month investigation into the public availability of search warrant and electronic surveillance records in Connecticut’s federal courts.

MFIA Clinic, ACLU Sue LAPD Over Access to Public Documents
The ACLU Foundation of Southern California and Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic filed a lawsuit on April 25, 2017 against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) alleging flagrant violations of the California Public Records Act (CPRA).

MFIA Clinic Seeks to Unseal Records Relating to Former Trump Associate Felix H. Sater
On March 22, 2017, the Yale Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic (MFIA) on behalf of Forbes Media LLC (Forbes) and Forbes magazine’s Contributing Editor of Investigations Richard Behar, filed a motion in the Second Circuit to unseal records in a matter related to the criminal prosecution of Felix H. Sater. Sater is reported to be a former business associate of President Trump with connections to Russian oligarchs and organized crime, according to the motion. The documents Forbes and Behar seek should shed light on the nature of Sater’s reported connection to Russia and President Trump...

MFIA Clinic Convenes Panel To Discuss Conflicts of Interest In New Administration
On January 10, 2017, approximately 40 journalists and media lawyers attended a free-form discussion with legal experts on the federal conflict of interest laws and the incoming Trump Administration

Judge Rules in Favor of MFIA Clinic in Arizona Department of Corrections Case
A federal judge ruled in favor of the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic in a recent case against the Arizona Department of Corrections.

MFIA Clinic Demands Records Identifying Missouri’s Lethal Injection Drug Suppliers
The Media Freedom and Information Access (MFIA) Clinic at Yale Law School filed a brief on October 21, 2016 defending a significant victory for government transparency scored by the clinic last year.

Abrams Institute Letter Objects to Science Advocacy Organization Subpoenas
The Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression at Yale Law School submitted a letter to the Chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space & Technology, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), sharply criticizing subpoenas issued to nine science advocacy organizations.

MFIA Clinic Secures Win in Lethal Injection Case
The Media and Freedom Information Access Clinic secured a victory in a Missouri Circuit Court on March 21, 2016 when a judge ruled that the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) was required under state law to disclose the names of the pharmacies from which it purchases the drugs used to execute inmates on death row.

$3 Million Grant Given to Launch Health Data Initiative
The Collaboration for Research Integrity and Transparency (CRIT) at Yale University, a new initiative launching in July 2016, received a $3 million grant from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) to promote open access to high-quality data in health.