Never before has California communications law changed as rapidly as it did during 1999.  During 1999 alone, the California Supreme Court ruled on eight different cases concerning communications law or First Amendment issues.  Those decisions (and two noteworthy 1998 decisions) are listed here.  Each one is linked to an excerpt from the Fall, 2000 edition of The California Supplement to Major Principles of Media Law.  The linked excerpts cover only the new decisions listed here, not all of the background information on a particular topic.  Each listing indicates the chapter of The California Supplement in which the case is discussed.
 

*Aguilar v. Avis Rent A Car System, a 1999 California Supreme Court decision upholding a judge's injunction forbidding the use of a list of racial epithets in the workplace and holding that such an injunction does not violate the First Amendment (Ch. 3)  <more information>

*Khawar v. Globe International, a 1998 California Supreme Court decision rejecting the neutral reportage defense, at least in cases involving private persons (Ch. 4)     <more information>

*Briggs v. Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity, a 1999 California Supreme Court decision broadly interpreting California's restrictions on strategic lawsuits against public participation (Ch. 4)    <more information>

*Shulman v. Group W, a notable 1998 California Supreme Court decision holding that the media may be sued for intrusive newsgathering at the scene of an auto accident (Ch. 5)    <more information>

*Sanders v. ABC, a 1999 California Supreme Court decision holding that the media may be sued for the use of a hidden camera in partitioned offices, plus three other appellate court decisions concerning allegedly intrusive newsgathering (Ch. 5)  <more information>

*The California Supreme Court's 1999 decision to reinstate Polydoros v. 20th Century Fox Film, a California appellate court decision rejecting the right to sue for the use of a fictitious character resembling an actual person and having a similar name (Ch. 5)    <more information>

*NBC Subsidiary (KNBC-TV) v. Superior Court, a 1999 California Supreme Court decision recognizing a constitutional right of the press and the public to attend most civil court proceedings (Ch. 7)  <more information>

*Miller v. Superior Court, a 1999 California Supreme Court decision holding that prosecutors  cannot circumvent the shield law and force journalists to reveal confidential information in criminal cases  (Ch. 8)     <more information>

*Regents of the University of California v. Superior Court, a 1999 California Supreme Court decision upholding the 30-day deadline for lawsuits challenging actions allegedly taken in violation of the Bagley-Keene Act  (Ch. 9) <more information>

*Daily Journal Corp. v. Superior Court, a 1999 California Supreme Court decision to prevent release of the transcript of a grand jury's criminal inquiry into the Merrill Lynch brokerage's role in the Orange County bankruptcy (Ch. 9)   <more information>