Can Americans Secretly Record Police And Do Officers Have An Expectation Of Privacy?

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 26, 2012 — Smartphones and other technology have vastly expanded the number of videotaped police actions, and recent case law has protected a citizen’s right to openly record under the First Amendment.  A teleconference on Tuesday, Dec. 4, will explore whether secret recording is permissible and whether police officers have an expectation of privacy during these encounters.

The panel discussion, sponsored by the American Bar Association Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division, will examine recent case law as well as wiretapping laws around the country.  Panelists will also explain what activities are and are not protected under the First Amendment. 

Members of the panel include:  Hanni M. Fakhoury, staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation; Lyrissa B. Lidsky, professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law; David Milton, an attorney with the Law Offices of Howard Friedman, P.C.; and Robert M. Ross, a magistrate with the Supreme Court of Virginia.

What:      Videotaping Police, Wiretapping Laws and the First Amendment 

For media credentialing and access to this teleconference, please contact Meredith Josef at Meredith.Josef@americanbar.org.  This event is free and open to members of the press. 

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.