Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in United States v. Moore-Bush. The First Circuit recently granted rehearing en banc in the case – a drug prosecution matter – to reconsider whether 24/7 camera surveillance of a particular location is a Fourth Amendment “search” requiring a warrant. The brief argues that the panel’s original decision that such surveillance is not a search does not adequately consider First Amendment rights, particularly as applied to newsgathering. Persistent camera surveillance burdens the integrity and confidentiality of the newsgathering process. The brief argues that the panel’s rule, which would permit the government to monitor the movements of journalists and sources without limit, should be rejected. [2021]
