Indiana

Caught on Tape

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

Indianapolis Public School Superintendent Dr. Eugene White may soon be defending more than his proposed budget cuts.

At a budget hearing this week, IPS officials kicked out a couple attendees who were videotaping the budget meeting.  The attendees were from Michigan and were filming the meeting for a documentary on teachers unions.  They had been taping for 40 minutes before spokeswoman Mary Louise Bewley threw them out for being “disingenuous”.   Apparently this is all on tape and I’m trying to get a copy of it.  When I do, I will post the exchange here.

Where IPS may be in legal trouble is that public meetings of public bodies have to be open to the public.  And government officials can’t expel members of the public from the meeting for being “disingenuous”.    The law is pretty clear when it comes to recording public meetings…

Ind. Code § 5-14-1.5-3(a) – “…all meetings of the governing bodies of public agencies must be open at all times for the purpose of permitting members of the public to observe and record them.” (emphasis added).  The courts have also upheld that rule as well.  In Berry v. Peoples Broadcasting Corp., 547 N.E.2d 231, 234 (Ind. 1989), the Indiana Supreme Court affirmed a trial court’s ruling that governing bodies may not ban the reasonable use of tape recorders at public meetings.

I don’t know what IPS was thinking by kicking the camera crew out the meeting, especially since they had been there taping for 40 minutes and not disturbing anyone.

Oh well, maybe I can get an answer when they respond to the complaint that will be filed with Indiana’s Public Access Counselor.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on March 26, 2010 (boomark / email).