Participated in a letter (with the National Press Photographers Association and other amici) sent to the Arizona House Appropriations Committee concerning HB 2319, a bill under consideration that would prohibit recording a law enforcement officer from within 15 feet without permission. The letter explains that the proposed legislation plainly violates the free speech and press clauses of the First Amendment and would chill legitimate news coverage of policing. The bill’s language also runs counter to the “clearly established right” to photograph and record police officers performing their official duties in a public place cited by the Ninth Circuit. The letter urges that the bill not be voted out of committee and that the legislature consider withdrawing it entirely from consideration. [2022]
