Thursday, March 05, 2015

We're the Only Ones Well-Established Enough

Despite the fact that every court to rule on the matter has now determined that there is a First Amendment right to record on-duty police, and that according to the American Civil Liberties Union, Philadelphia police have a history of wrongful arrests in this area, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Yohn Jr. dismissed Loeb’s free-speech claim this year, finding that such a right isn’t yet clearly established in the Third District. (Welcome to the world of qualified immunity, where the police are only required to follow “well-established” laws.) [More]
Yeah, it's not like the Constitution is the supreme law of the land or anything. Besides, everybody knows rights are determined by what local police "customs" allow.

What kind of "high-minded" malcontent would presume otherwise?

[Via Mack H]

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