A federal judge ruled against an Arizona law that restricts how close the public is allowed to be to police officers while recording, and deemed it to be unconstitutional.
In his ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge John J. Tuchi cited infringement against a clear right for citizens to film police while performing the duties of their jobs.
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“The law prohibits or chills a substantial amount of First Amendment protected activity and is unnecessary to prevent interference with police officers given other Arizona laws in effect,” Tuchi writes.
Tuchi placed a temporary injunction to pause the law from going into effect last year, but his latest order permanently keeps it from being able to be enforced.
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by lawyers with the Associated Press, as well as the ACLU, who challenged the legality of the law. The legislation passed with the support of Arizona Republican legislators, and was subsequently signed into law by former Gov. Doug Ducey (R) in July of 2022.
It prohibited the recording of police officers within 8 feet of law enforcement activity if an officer requested the citizen, or journalist, to cease filming.
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The measure further ordered anyone filming on public property to stop if authorities deemed the area was unsafe or if the person filming was interfering.
Despite its passage, the law was met with opposition by a number of top law enforcement officials across the state. Further, it was rebuked by some of the legislators who previously supported it, following the lawsuit’s filing.
