US Judge Rules In Favor Of Police 'Buffer Law' Viewed As Threat To Rights Of Journalists
The Indiana state law is opposed by news media and press freedom organizations, especially because of the arbitrary power it grants to police.
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A United States judge in the state of Indiana ruled that a state law, which makes it a crime to enter a 25-foot “buffer” around police, does not violate press freedom or freedom of speech.
“This law has only an incidental effect on the public’s First Amendment right to capture audio and video and otherwise to scrutinize police conduct,” U.S. District Judge Damon R. Leichty declared.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which filed the lawsuit in August 2023 on behalf of Donald Nicodemus, a “citizen journalist” in South Bend, Indiana, expressed their disappointment with the federal court decision and indicated that they would appeal.
“We believe this new law gives unbridled discretion to law enforcement officers and invites content and viewpoint-based discrimination,” said Ken Falk, the legal director for the ACLU of Indiana. “With this ruling, police officers will continue to have unchecked authority to prohibit citizens from approaching within 25 feet of the officers to observe their actions, even if the actions of the citizens are not and will not interfere with the police.”
Read the full article at The Dissenter.
25feet social distancing to avoid being killed by cops. Hmmm, why do they want to kill us anyway?
I had a cop pull his gun on me from point blank range. I hadn't asked any questions, I was turning myself in.
My crime was I ran for mayor in SF and then I went to jail. 2007.
Thank you ScKamala.
No real journalists ever investigated and wrote any honest news items I ever saw about my sad story.
Now they turned the whole world into a jail. Don't bang your head against the bars, you'll only bleed out.