Free Talk Live

Illinois man faces five felony charges and 75 years in prison for recording on duty police officers.

"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."

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.

The 2nd Circuit US Court of Appeals has ruled that recording an in-person conversation without the knowledge of all parties is only a violation of federal wiretapping law if the person making the recording intends to use the recording for illegal purposes. At least in the states that do not have explicit laws against recording cops, this should nullify the abuses of wiretapping laws against people recording in public.

Radley Balko: So last night’s season premiere of The Good Wife was almost a word-for-word adaptation of my piece on the Terrance Huff traffic stop for Huffington Post from earlier this year. Everything from the setting (Madison County, Illinois) to the falsely alerting drug dog, the bad cop, the illegal traffic stop, the illegal search, the forfeiture corridor, it was all in there. They even threw in a little twist about recording cops in Illinois. They also mentioned Huff’s video, “Breakfast in Collinsville.”

"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....

A Minnesota man was arrested while recording police as they called paramedics to assist a stranger covered in blood... because the officer said it was a violation of HIPAA regulations. Cops also stole his camera... but the audio was recorded remotely via cellpone! It isn't a violation. So they charged him with "disorderly conduct" and "obstruction of legal process," whatever that is. He vows to not take a plea and will take the case to trial! Never take a plea!!!

“The ISRA has learned from a credible source that Illinois Senate President John Cullerton [above] will introduce a so called ‘assault weapons’ ban on Wednesday when the legislature returns for its ‘lame duck’ session. Cullerton hopes to ramrod the bill through and get it to Governor Quinn for signature by Friday. If he is successful at doing so, nearly every gun you currently own will be banned and will be subject to confiscation by the Illinois State Police..."

An Northern Illinois University Police Officer Charged with Sexual Assault