Free Talk Live

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.

A proposed bill introduced in the Texas State legislature would protect those who film police in public and would prohibit a person from being prosecuted if they refuse to stop filming at the command of an officer.

Police expect citizens to comply with their demands, and contempt of cop is the most common cause for abuse. When police ask you to stop recording them or to give them your identification, what can you do?...

Georgia State Representative Calvin Hill has introduced House Resolution 1086 (HR1086), which proposes a Georgia State Constitutional Amendment “so as to provide that no law or rule or regulation shall compel any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system and to authorize persons and employers to pay directly for lawful health care services without penalties or fines; to provide for the submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes.”

The Connecticut state Senate passed legislation last week that would hold police officers in the state personally liable for violating a citizen's First Amendment right to videotape their actions. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Eric Coleman (D-Bloomfield).
"Sometimes we become aware of incidents where police officers have been overzealous or abusive and not act in a very complimentary way towards the citizens who deserve to be served and protected," Coleman said.

For the fifth time in less than two months, Austin police arrested a man while video recording them in public. This time it was Joshua Pineda, 26, a member of the Peaceful Streets Project, the organization that focuses on video recording police as they interact with the public. But this time, they did not confiscate his phone, which most likely was a result of Pineda exercising his right to remain silent while incarcerated.

"A man in Weare, New Hampshire was charged with felony wiretapping for recording the police during a traffic stop — based on a cell phone call he made as an officer approached his vehicle. From the article: Police considered it wiretapping because the call was being recorded by a voice mail service without the officer's consent."

From the SF Chronicle: Charges against a man for marijuana possession were dropped after a videotape of the bust contradicted the police's story. The police alleged the man consented to a search and properly identified themselves as police. The videotape showed otherwise and the charges were dismissed.

"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....