Ethics

Record the Police, Go to Prison

By Ed Brayton

Balko writes at Reason about a vile law in Illinois that makes it a major felony to record a police officer on duty:

Last week, an Illinois judge rejected Chicago artist Christopher Drew's motion to dismiss the Class I felony charge against him. Drew is charged with violating the state's eavesdropping statute when he recorded his encounter with a police officer last December on the streets of Chicago. A Class I felony in Illinois is punishable by 4 to 15 years in prison. It's in the same class of crimes as sexual assault. Drew will be back in court in June to request a jury trial.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on May 25, 2010 (boomark / email).