Glenn Reynolds (Tennessee) and John Steakley have an essay in Wash U. Law Review and Wash U. Law Review’s Commentaries arguing for a right, grounded in Due Process, for citizens to record all encounters with police, public and private. I have written about the right to record as a First Amendment matter, particularly the Petition Clause, thus tying it to the increasingly common (and demanded) use of video at trial. But Reynolds’ and Steakley’s use due process to tie the right to record to eventual use at trial and to litigation issues such as preservation of evidence and the right of a citizen to put on a legal defense. This is especially important because in a he-said/she-said between a citizen and an officer, the latter is more likely to receive the benefit of the doubt.
As I like to say, wish I had thought of this.
Posted by Howard Wasserman on June 13, 2012 at 10:24 PM
Comments
This might especially be useful in Indiana, where residents may now use force against the police under certain circumstances: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-05/nra-backed-law-spells-out-when-indianans-may-open-fire-on-police.html
Posted by: Margaret Ryznar | Jun 14, 2012 12:11:41 AM