A federal judge who has written a new book on national security and the
recently retired head of the federal Information Security Oversight Office
join more than a dozen nationally known headliners as speakers for the 10th
annual National Freedom of Information Day Conference kicking off this year's
Sunshine Week events at the Newseum and across the nation.
The National FOI Day Conference, sponsored by the First Amendment Center, will
be held on Friday, March 14, in the new conference facilities at the Newseum,
which will formally open in mid-April and is located at 555 Pennsylvania
Avenue.
This year's event, entitled "Toward a More Open Government: Opportunities &
Obstacles," is co-sponsored by Sunshine Week, and other participating
organizations include the American Library Association, the Sunshine in
Government Initiative, OpenTheGovernment.org and the Coalition of Journalists
for Open Government.
Presenting the conference's opening speech Friday morning will be J. William
Leonard, the former ISOO chief who retired late last year after 32 years of
federal service.
Leonard, who has been a principled advocate for open government, will speak on
"A New Balancing Test for Government Secrecy: How Excessive Classification
Undermines National Security."
During the luncheon program, The Honorable James E. Baker of the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Armed Forces, a former White House national security expert,
will discuss how open a democratic government can be during wartime during an
interview with Tony Mauro of Legal Times. Judge Baker's new book is titled, In
the Common Defense: National Security Law for Perilous Times.
"Secrecy and security are two of the most pressing issues confronting public
officials and ordinary citizens today," said conference host and organizer,
Ronald Collins of the First Amendment Center. "We are delighted to be able to
have two such acclaimed experts to provide their perspectives on these issues
and to join with other experts to discuss these timely topics."
The conference agenda also includes two panel sessions:
-- "The New FOIA Law: Good News/Bad News," moderated by Tom Blanton of the
National Security Archive, appraises recent amendments to the federal Freedom
of Information Act. Panelists include James C. Ho of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher;
Dan Metcalfe of American University; Tonda Rush of American PressWorks; and
Thomas Susman of Ropes & Gray.
-- "Infrastructure Safety & Public Information," moderated by Lucy Dalglish of
the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, examines access to
information about the nation's bridges, mines, dams and other critical
infrastructure. The panel includes Ted Gup, author of Nation of Secrets; Pam
Ouwagie of the MinneapolisStar Tribune; Brian Pallasch of the American Society
of Civil Engineers; and Ellen Smith of Mine Safety and Health News.
The annual James Madison Award recognizing outstanding achievement in
championing access to government information and the public's right to know
will be presented during the luncheon program by Loriene Roy, president of the
American Library Association. At the end of regular programming in the
afternoon, authors will sign recent FOI-related books.
Program details and information on registering for the conference may be found
on the First Amendment Center Web site at:
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/press/information/topic.aspx?topic=FOI_Day
The First Amendment Center, a non-profit, non-partisan organization, works to
preserve and protect First Amendment freedoms through information and
education. The Center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of
free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of
religion, and the rights to assemble and to petition the government.
The First Amendment Center, with offices at Vanderbilt University in
Nashville, Tenn., and Washington, D.C., is an operating program of the Freedom
Forum (http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=4020) and
is associated with the Newseum. Its affiliation with Vanderbilt University
(http://www.vanderbilt.edu/) is through the Vanderbilt Institute for Public
Policy Studies. Its offices on the Vanderbilt campus are located in the John
Seigenthaler Center.
/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- March 7/
SOURCE First Amendment Center
Gene Policinski, +1-615-727-1303, or Ronald Collins, +1-202-292-6292, both of
the First Amendment Center
