Another federal appeals court says people have a right protected by the First Amendment to film police while they work.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled on Monday in the case of a YouTube journalist and blogger who claimed that a suburban Denver officer blocked him from recording a 2019 traffic stop. Its ruling concurs with decisions made by six of the nation's other 12 appeals court.
U.S. government lawyers intervened in the appeal to support the public's right to record police in the 10th Circuit, which oversees Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah as well as parts of Yellowstone National Park that lie in Idaho and Montana.
Even though the court said the right to record police existed in 2019, the ruling will mainly have an impact going forward since lawsuits for police misconduct must be brought within two or three years in most states.
“Today’s decision also adds to the consensus of authority on this important issue, bringing us a step closer to the day when this right is recognized and protected everywhere in the United States,” said Andrew Tutt, a lawyer for the plaintiff, a blogger named Abade Irizarry.