In an earlier post , we began analyzing whether there is a recognized “right to record the police.” We looked at judicial decisions in Maryland and in Illinois involving each state’s wiretapping statute. In this post, we examine a decision issued in...(read more)
Is There A Right To Record the Police?
According to one recent judicial opinion, Ickes v. Borough of Bedford (W.D. Pa. Dec. 3, 2010), "the issue of police officers arresting citizens for recording them in public has recently been brought to the forefront of the cultural Zeitgeist." From...(read more)
Internet Company Enjoined from Streaming Broadcast Programming over the Internet
Earlier today, the federal district court in the Southern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting ivi.tv from streaming the programming of the plaintiffs' television stations over the Internet or to mobile phones. The...(read more)
Charlotte Observer Draws Fire for Records Request
The Charlotte Observer was recently on the receiving end of a wave of criticism in response to public records requests it made to local government bodies in the Charlotte area. The criticism did not stem from what it asked for per se , but rather...(read more)
"Sunshine Amendment" Introduced in North Carolina
A bill introduced this week in the North Carolina General Assembly would enshrine the value of government transparency into North Carolina's Constitution. North Carolina, like many states, provides citizens with a statutory basis for inspecting...(read more)
Fourth Circuit Upholds Right to Publish Government Documents Containing SSNs
I’m going to devote a few posts over the next several weeks to some intriguing cases from 2010 that you might have missed. One such case is a fascinating decision from the Fourth Circuit, Ostergren v. Cuccinelli , 615 F.3d 263 (2010) , in which the...(read more)
Criminal Defendant Denied Access to Reality Show Footage
A trial court judge in Charlotte ruled Thursday that a defendant in a murder case is not entitled to unaired footage from the A&E series The First 48 . The case presented an interesting twist on shield law issues. Jonathan Fitzgerald has been...(read more)
Blue Language Given Thumbs Up in North Carolina
Sorry, this blog post is not about the Duke-UNC rivalry. Instead, it is about a First Amendment decision handed down by a trial judge last month that qualifies as being on the lighter, if not cleaner, side. The case involved North Carolina's...(read more)