[Vision2020] A Vital Liberty

[Art Deco]

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September 1, 2011
A Vital Liberty
In an important decision last week, a federal appeals court affirmed that the First Amendment protects the right to videotape the activities of police officers in public. When three officers arrested a man in Boston Common one evening in 2007, a bystander named Simon Glik, concerned that the officers were using excessive force, pulled out his cellphone and made an audio and video recording of the arrest. Unhappy about being recorded, one officer handcuffed and arrested Mr. Glik, too. He was charged with wiretapping, along with other crimes. 

After the charges were dismissed, Mr. Glik sued the Boston Police Department for violating his constitutional rights under the First and Fourth Amendments. The officers claimed immunity from the lawsuit because they were performing official duties. 

The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit wisely rejected that argument. It explains in a strong opinion that Mr. Glik was exercising "a basic, vital, and well-established liberty safeguarded by the First Amendment." It did not matter that Mr. Glik was not a journalist because "the public's right of access to information is coextensive with that of the press." His use of a cellphone made "clear why the news-gathering protections of the First Amendment cannot turn on professional credentials or status." 

Public officials are entitled to limited immunity from lawsuits when they are operating in their official capacity. But they can be sued if they should have known that their conduct violated a constitutional right. The court allowed Mr. Glik's suit to go forward because it found that the officers misused their authority in arresting him. 

The First Amendment clearly protects Mr. Glik's right to videotape public events. The Fourth Amendment protected him from arrest without probable cause; he was obviously not engaged in illegal wiretapping since he made his recording openly. The officers tried to turn Mr. Glik's exercise of his rights into a crime. By turning his cellphone camera on them, he held them accountable for their conduct. 



_________________________________
Wayne A. Fox
wayne.a.fox at gmail.com
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