Supreme Court blocks Illinois law prohibiting taping of police

[InstigatinMofo]

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from the Cook County state's attorney to allow enforcement of a law prohibiting people from recording police officers on the job.

The justices on Monday left in place a lower court ruling that found that the state's anti-eavesdropping law violates free speech rights when used against people who tape law enforcement officers.

The law set out a maximum prison term of 15 years.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in 2010 against Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez to block prosecution of ACLU staff for recording police officers performing their duties in public places, one of the group's long-standing monitoring missions.

Opponents of the law say the right to record police is vital to guard against abuses.

Last May, a federal appeals court in Chicago ruled that the law “likely violates” the First Amendment and ordered that authorities be banned from enforcing it.

The appeals court agreed with the ACLU that the "Illinois eavesdropping statute restricts far more speech than necessary to protect legitimate privacy interests.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...tory?track=rss

Contributing to the ACLU may be the best $25 a month I spend.

[HeinousMark]

Dammit! What good is being a cop if you can't break the laws you're hired to protect, and then hide it and lie?!?!?!

[SiriusDawg]

The idea that filming the cops can be illegal is so insanely crazy to me and just reeks of being put in place to safeguard against police abuse.