In Illinois, the legislature wanted the answer to be no, but the 7th Circuit said the law violated the First Amendment. The Supreme Court just denied cert, so the injunction is still on the books. From the Chicago Tribune:
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal of a
controversial Illinois law prohibiting people from recording police
officers on the job.
By passing on the issue, the justices left
in place a federal appeals court ruling that found that the state's
anti-eavesdropping law violates free-speech rights when used against
people who audiotape police officers.
A temporary injunction
issued after that June ruling effectively bars Cook County State's
Attorney Anita Alvarez from prosecuting anyone under the current
statute. On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union, which brought
the lawsuit against Alvarez, asked a federal judge hearing the case to
make the injunction permanent, said Harvey Grossman, legal director of
the ACLU of Illinois.
Grossman said he expected that a permanent
injunction would set a precedent across Illinois that effectively
cripples enforcement of the law.
It reminds me of this YouTube video:
This Good Wife episode was based on that video. It's a fun watch:
1 comment:
I believe we should be able to record the police. If they are providing service in a manner which they should there should be no problem.
Post a Comment