Free Talk Live

Illinois charges you with a Class I felony for recording cops; it's punishable by 4 to 15 years in prison.

In Illinois, you need the permission of the state to record on the street. It is illegal make audio recordings of cops going about their duty arresting unlicensed street artists and other ne’er-do-wells.

A Maryland man now faces up to five years in prison after he recorded his traffic stop last month in Harford County. Graber was speeding with his motorcycle with a camera attached to his helmet recording his ride.

"Federal District Court Judge Suzanne Conlon has dismissed an ACLU challenge to the Illinois law that makes recording someone in a public space without their permission a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison."

A 34-year-old Iraqi War veteran is facing ten years behind bars after photographing police officers in Austin, Texas that he says were mistreating a woman during a routine arrest on New Year’s Eve

An incidental recording taken while a Florida woman was on the phone with her insurance company shows that the police who arrested her and charged her with a felony for resisting arrest lied in their reports, and then again under questioning.

Video summary of JOhn Kurtz facing 6 years in prison for filming police. Trail starts Monday 5/16/11

The settlement follows a landmark ruling last August by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, declaring that the First Amendment protects the right to record police carrying out their duties in a public place...

"The law had been clear for years that openly recording a video is not a crime..."

The court's opinion made clear that people cannot be arrested simply for documenting the actions of police officers in public...

"The First Amendment includes the freedom to observe and document the conduct of government officials, which is crucial to a democracy and a free society."

"Several Marylanders face felony charges for recording their arrests on camera, and others have been intimidated to shut their cameras off" -- A common topic on FTL (which proves that liberty ideas are ahead of the curve), but here is an update....