Rich B
Regular Member
From Mass. of all places:
http://www.baz.com/quark/2011/08/first-circuit-reiterates-recording-police-isnt-a-crime.html said:1. You have a First Amendment right to record public officials in public while performing their duties.
The filming of government officials engaged in their duties in a public place, including police officers performing their responsibilities, fits comfortably within [First Amendment protections].
2. That right does not just extend to some sort of "professional" press corps - we all have it.
It is of no significance that the present case...involves a private individual, and not a reporter, gathering information about public officials. The First Amendment right to gather news is, as the Court has often noted, not one that inures solely to the benefit of the news media; rather, the public's right of access to information is coextensive with that of the press.
3. Officers who are arresting people today for "wiretapping" violations while exercising their First Amendment rights are on notice that they may be held personally liable for these illegal arrests.