Supreme Court Refuses to Hear IL Eavesdropping Law

[Tsigos]

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear an appeal to reinstate Illinois' eavesdropping law that banned recording of police officers.

Top court will not revisit Illinois eavesdropping law - Chicago Tribune

 

[downzero]

Good!

I do think the Supreme Court will hear one of these cases once some circuit goes the wrong way (if that ever happens). Perhaps the 5th Circuit is the place to create one of these sorts of test cases.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Seems reasonable enough. Leaving it in the recycle bin indefinitely is as good as permanently deleting it for our purposes.

 

[Libertarian01]

To All,

While I see this as a 1st Amendment issue I do not believe it falls under "freedom of speech."

Rather I think it falls under "...petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

How can you redress a "grievance" if you cannot document and/or record the grievance as evidence for a judge or jury to observe? We must be able to record a problem if we are going to solve a problems.

+1 to SCOTUS on thisun!

Regards,

Doug

 

[rambone]

Supreme Court rejects plea to ban taping of police in Illinois - chicagotribune.com

 

[CathyInBlue]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but since t he 7th Cir. is only IL, IN, and WI, this decision not to review the case only safeguards our right to secretly record the police in IL, IN, and WI, and not the other 47 states of the union, or federal enclaves.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but since t he 7th Cir. is only IL, IN, and WI, this decision not to review the case only safeguards our right to secretly record the police in IL, IN, and WI, and not the other 47 states of the union, or federal enclaves.

I am given to understand that Massachusetts and Illinois are the only two states with laws require consent of all parties which do not have an exception based on reasonable expectation of privacy, hence it is legal in the other 48. The First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Massachusetts on this issue.

7 Rules for Recording Police - Reason.com

 

[griffin]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but since t he 7th Cir. is only IL, IN, and WI, this decision not to review the case only safeguards our right to secretly record the police in IL, IN, and WI, and not the other 47 states of the union, or federal enclaves.

Almost all states already allow it.

 

[CathyInBlue]

But the act of declining to review this case only acts as a safeguard against a reversal of those laws in the three states of the 7th Cir. True or false?

 

[Denny347]

It can be used as a precedent for other circuit...but it is only binding for their circuit. The others will have to go through the same process if they want it to be binding for them.

 

[CathyInBlue]

THANK YOU! That was what I wanted to hear.

 

[jedi]

Per the article
"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."

So does this not apply to video/pics of LEO?

 

[Tsigos]

Per the article
"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."

So does this not apply to video/pics of LEO?

I could be mistaken but I think pics and video were always allowed so long as they did not record audio.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I could be mistaken but I think pics and video were always allowed so long as they did not record audio.

That was my understanding as well, that the video recordings were not illegal as such but rather because they included audio which had been prohibited under a law passed for a specific purpose that had absolutely nothing to do with the point at issue. Once again, this proves out the danger of providing the police and courts with a club intended to smack one group for a specialized problem which they can manage to repurpose for use on most everyone other than the intended target group.

 

[jedi]

I could be mistaken but I think pics and video were always allowed so long as they did not record audio.

Maybe it's just a COOK COUNTY, IL issue but taking pics of Chicago LEOs in action is a and you will get arrested.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Maybe it's just a COOK COUNTY, IL issue but taking pics of Chicago LEOs in action is a and you will get arrested.

Don't they just make up their own law as they go along in Cook County?

 

[cobber]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but since t he 7th Cir. is only IL, IN, and WI, this decision not to review the case only safeguards our right to secretly record the police in IL, IN, and WI, and not the other 47 states of the union, or federal enclaves.

It depends on what basis the 7th Circuit decided it. If it addressed it as a matter of Illinois law, then it would be binding on Illinois only. If as a matter of federal law, it would apply to the states of the circuit.

Outside the circuit, not binding.

There are 47 more states? What happened to the other 10??

Don't they just make up their own law as they go along in Cook County?

I believe that Illinois has home rule that allows counties to enact their own criminal code. Not the case in Indiana.

 

[mrjarrell]

My favourite photographer (and cop recorder) has a great summary of the case.

Chicago’s State Attorney doing all she can to keep Draconian State Eavesdropping Law Alive | PINAC

 

[IndyDave1776]

It depends on what basis the 7th Circuit decided it. If it addressed it as a matter of Illinois law, then it would be binding on Illinois only. If as a matter of federal law, it would apply to the states of the circuit.

Outside the circuit, not binding.

There are 47 more states? What happened to the other 10??


I believe that Illinois has home rule that allows counties to enact their own criminal code. Not the case in Indiana.

They must be hidden in the same vault that Big Zero' supporters think holds his stash of giveaway cash.

 

[NYFelon]

They must be hidden in the same vault that Big Zero' supporters think holds his stash of giveaway cash.

China?