First Amendment Hotline
WHEN YOU NEED HELP
At the First Amendment Center, we are committed to using our resources, to include the expertise of our staff - and, when the need arises, First Amendment lawyers - to advise citizens, journalists and news organizations when they run afoul of public officials who block access to public records or meetings.
If you need our help, and cannot find the information you seek on our website, we urge you to contact us. Here are some of the ways we can help:
OUR ADVICE. Most often, the Center's staff director, members of Northeastern's experienced journalism faculty or board members of the New England First Amendment Coalition can advise you on how to obtain the public access the law requires in your state.
OUR ASSISTANCE. If you need further help, the Center may lend its expertise to help you navigate your way through the Freedom of Information process.
OUR BULLY PULPIT. Our website is a region-wide attention-getter - for anyone who needs access to public information; for government officials, elected and appointed, who have to interpret public access laws; for opinion leaders who care about First Amendment issues; and for news organizations that monitor our website for egregious cases in which the public's access to its government is being illegally blocked. That means the Center's website can be a powerful tool when widespread public attention to a First Amendment issue is warranted.
OUR LEGAL ADVICE. When important issues of broad public import arise, the Center's advisory board of First Amendment attorneys will offer legal advice to protect our First Amendment rights.
If you need help, email us: firstamendment@neu.edu. Or call the Center at 617-373-5120.