#Inside of a government building office free

Take the case of Simon Glik who was arrested in 2007 by Boston police for recording the arrest of another citizen. In case you are arrested, you may win the legal battle but that usually takes some time and may also be costly.Ī landmark case when lines become blurred No one else can make that decision for you, as it is your liberty that is at stake. If the officer still tries to stop you, request to speak to a supervisory or public information officer, and if that is not possible, you may be faced with a personal decision as to whether what you are doing is important enough to risk arrest. If the officer or guard is willing to talk, which often they are not, try to explain your position and respectfully assert your understanding of your rights. Whenever possible, try to keep recording the interaction as it may be your best evidence of what actually happened should you get arrested. So what steps does a videographer or photographer take when faced with these ever-increasing encounters? Obviously every situation is different, but it is important to stay calm, speak in a conversational tone and be respectful. Under no circumstances may anyone delete those recordings or order you or a third party to do so. However, it may not be searched, viewed and copied without proper legal authority such as a search warrant or subpoena. Under certain conditions known as “exigent circumstances,” where an officer believes that your recording might contain evidence of a crime and subsequently seize your equipment and material in order to prevent it from being lost or destroyed. It is important to know that you do not have to consent to such a request.

Your obligations and your rightsĪlthough there is no obligation to show your images to a law enforcement officer, you may be asked to do so. When arrested, photographers are also typically charged with disorderly conduct, obstruction of governmental administration or trespass. While it is not illegal to photograph or record images in public places in almost every state, some states have eavesdropping laws that criminalize recording oral conversations without permission, which has led to arrests due to the fact that videographers don’t usually make silent movies. But it is one thing for a photographer to know his or her rights when recording public officials and quite another for security guards, police officers and government officials to be aware of or even care about those rights.

#Inside of a government building office free

Photography in its broadest sense is protected as a form of free expression however, constitutional protections are not absolute and may be subject to “reasonable time, place and manner restrictions,” and the main keyword is “reasonable.”Īs a general rule, both the public and the press have a right to record government officials or matters of public interest in a public place. …” This has been interpreted to mean that no government entity may curtail free speech and press activities. Constitution states “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. In an attempt to provide some broad guidelines, it is helpful to understand a few main concepts. Further complications arise when looking at such concerns as still photography versus audio-visual recording and editorial versus commercial use. Simplicity is often elusive when it comes to legal matters, so it should be no surprise that the answers to questions related to recording video and audio in public places contain few pat answers other than “it’s complicated.” Indeed, that is because laws, regulations and rules in these matters differ between federal, state and municipal governments.