From Ramos v. Flowers (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Sept. 21, 2012): [W]e conclude that a reasonable police officer in 2006 could not have believed he had the absolute right to preclude Ramos from videotaping any gang activities or any interaction of the police with gang members for the purposes of making a documentary film […]
Archive | Freedom to Gather Information
First Amendment Right to Record the Police Performing Their Duties in Public
The U.S. Justice Department opined May 14 that the First Amendment does secure such a right, reaffirming a January letter that I had missed. “Recording governmental officers engaged in public duties,” the letter reasons, “is a form of speech through which private individuals may gather and disseminate information of public concern, including the conduct of […]
Seventh Circuit: Ban on Audio Recording of Police Officers Likely Unconstitutional
From ACLU v. Alvarez (7th Cir. May 8, 2012) (Judge Sykes joined by Judge Hamilton, with Judge Posner dissenting): We reverse and remand with instructions to allow the amended complaint and enter a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the eavesdropping statute as applied to audio recording of the kind alleged here. The Illinois eavesdropping statute […]
Texas Ban on Photographing People Without Their Consent “With Intent to Arouse or Gratify the Sexual Desire of Any Person”
Texas Penal Code § 21.15(b)(1) makes it a crime to photograph someone “without the person’s consent” and “with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.” (A separate provision applies to photographing people in bathrooms or private dressing rooms.) In Ex parte Nyabwa (Tex. Ct. App. Dec. 13, 2011), a Texas appellate […]
Viewpoint Discrimination in K-12 School Library Filtering
By Eugene Volokh on February 16, 2012 5:21 pm in Cyberspace Law, Freedom of Speech at K-12 Schools, Freedom to Gather Information, Gay Rights, Sexual Orientation
As I’ve said before, the Supreme Court has never decided whether K-12 schools may remove books from school libraries based on their viewpoints, or may filter out Web sites based on their viewpoints. The Court’s cases dealing with this question, Board of Ed. v. Pico and U.S. v. American Library Ass’n were badly splintered and […]
The Original and Traditional Meaning of “Freedom … of the Press”
By Eugene Volokh on January 2, 2012 3:29 pm in Defamation, Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Gather Information, Restrictions on Campaign Contrbs. and Expenses
My article, Freedom for the Press as an Industry, or for the Press as a Technology? From the Framing to Today, 160 U. Penn. L. Rev. 459 (2011), available in its full PDF form here, has just been published; here is the Introduction: “[T]he freedom … of the press” specially protects the press as an […]
First Amendment Right to Openly Record Police Officers in Public
Friday’s Glik v. Cunniffe (1st Cir.), held that the First Amendment protects a right to openly videorecord and audiorecord police officers in public: It is firmly established that the First Amendment’s aegis extends further than the text’s proscription on laws “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,” and encompasses a range of conduct […]
Litigation Over Seizure of Photographer’s Camera
I just ran across a procedural decision in this litigation — Blackden v. New Hampshire State Police (D.N.H. July 8, 2011) — and thought that our readers who follow such issues might want to know about it. The decision itself is focused on whether a federal court may intervene at this point, given the ongoing […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Interprets State Media Shield Statute
In today’s Too Much Media, LLC v. Hale, the New Jersey Supreme Court considered what sorts of online speakers are covered by New Jersey’s Shield Law, which gives people connected with the “news media” an essentially absolute privilege not to disclose sources and other information that they’ve gathered. (This privilege is considerably stronger than the […]
Setback for James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles in Illegal Recording Lawsuit Brought by California ACORN Staffer
Monday, the District Judge in Vera v. O’Keefe rejected their motions for judgment on the pleadings. Among other things, the judge concluded that, “Given the requirement of a ‘confidential communication’ in § 632 [the statute under which the plaintiff is suing -EV], and that the California Supreme Court has defined that phrase as a party […]
School District Seeks Injunction Ordering Citizens to Stop Submitting Requests
Congress Elementary School Dist. No. 17 v. Warren, decided by the Arizona Court of Appeals last Thursday, delivers what strikes me as a well-deserved rebuke to the school district, coupled with an award of attorney’s fees to the citizens. Here’s a quick summary: Three citizens had submitted a bunch of requests to the school district […]
Hawaii Ban on Photographing Human Remains Older Than 50 Years?
That’s what Hawaii Administrative Rules §§ 13-300-1, -32(c) seems to say (though I’m not sure there’s any actual statutory authorization for this). And William Aila, Chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, wrote a memo two weeks ago to “[a]ll news agencies” stressing the prohibition. (For some opinionated background on this, see here.) […]
Don’t Photograph That Farm!
By Eugene Volokh on March 8, 2011 5:54 pm in Freedom to Gather Information, Non-Unanimous Criminal Verdicts
A bill just introduced in Florida: (1) A person who enters onto a farm or other property where legitimate agriculture operations are being conducted without the written consent of the owner, or an authorized representative of the owner, commits a felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, […]
Court Rejects Claim of a First Amendment Right to Audio-Record Police Officers
From ACLU v. Alvarez (N.D. Jan. 10, 2011): The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois (“the ACLU”) sues Anita Alvarez, in her official capacity as Cook County State’s Attorney, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, 720 ILCS 5/14 …. To assist in deterring and detecting police misconduct, the ACLU […]