Courts Uphold Right to Film Police

9/20/2011 • Free Patriot Press

When one hears the term “wiretapping”normally one thinks of secretly recording phone calls of others. Some may have thoughts of Watergate. However, under some crafty interpretations of the legal definition of wiretapping, several people have found themselves as suspects of this offense for filming their encounters with public officials. Most people familiar with the Free State Project are aware that Pete Eyre and Adam Mueller (aka Ademo Freeman) were recently acquitted of the felony wiretapping charges in Massachusetts. Some people may even be aware that the 1st Circuit Court ruled that filming public officials while on duty is a “basic and well-established liberty safeguarded by the First Amendment.” While, the 1st Circuit Court ruling only applies to the States that are part of that Court's jurisdiction, it was cited by a judge in Illinois as a “pervasive authority” for ruling on similar cases. Specifically the case of an Illinois man, Michael Allison, who was recently convicted o