Newsgathering

A Cook County judge declared the Illinois eavesdropping statute unconstitutional last week in the case of a street artist who recorded exchanges with police during his arrest.

Judge Stanley Sacks is the second judge to call the statute unconstitutional within the last year. Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy also publicly supported audio recording at a panel discussion in January.

A Vermont judge declined to dismiss charges against a newspaper publisher who was charged with criminal trespassing while covering an anti-wind energy protest on Lowell Mountain.

Journalists will soon be able to use laptop computers and other mobile electronic devices in Massachusetts courtrooms, after the state's highest court adopted a new rule designed to recognize changes in journalism and technology.

The rule also broadly defines "news media" and extends to any individual who gathers and disseminates information, whether in print or electronic format, about matters of public interest and concern to the public.

An Illinois state’s attorney dismissed charges against a 28-year-old man who faced felony charges for recording interactions with a police officer during a traffic stop, calling the state's controversial eavesdropping law unconstitutional.

A Washington Times reporter was arrested while covering the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. and said she was struck by police, but declined to disclose whether she will file a formal complaint.

A trial court erred when it did not weigh the First Amendment rights of a photojournalist trying to photograph a roundup of wild horses against the government’s interest in restricting her access and newsgathering rights, a federal appeals court ruled today.

An Illinois bill that would decriminalize the audio-recording of police officers engaging in their official duties in public is moving forward to the full state House of Representatives.

Los Angeles County Juvenile Court proceedings will be open to regular media coverage, but not to the public, unless a compelling case is made to close it, the court’s presiding judge ruled this week.

Prior to the ruling by Judge Michael Nash, the dependency side of the court, which focuses on cases of child abuse, foster care and adoption proceedings, had been largely closed to news organizations.