Citizens vs. Government

California police were not satisfied that a man driving through a DUI checkpoint had rolled his window three-quarters of the way down and handed them his drivers license.
No, they wanted the window rolled all the way down, so when he refused, they ordered a tow truck driver to latch on to the car and drive it away from the video of the men recording the stop – while the occupants remained inside – then had the driver use a slim jim to open the driver’s door.
The driver was then arrested on unknown charges, even though he showed no signs of impairment.

The Massachusetts wiretapping law makes it a felony to surreptitiously audio record anyone — even police officers and other government employees, and even when in a public place.
But a lawsuit filed Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts argues that the law is “unconstitutional as applied to the secret recording of police officers performing their duties in public.”

A Pennsylvania cop arrested for ripping a phone out of a woman’s hand because she was recording, then slamming it on a sidewalk and punching her in the face was acquitted of all charges Wednesday.
This despite video evidence proving Reading police officer Jesus Santiago-DeJesus violating the woman’s First Amendment right to record as well as proving he lied about why he had pulled her over in the first place.

The South Carolina town of Greer has doubled down on their police department’s blatant constitutional violations, but not how you’d expect.
The City of Greer released a body cam video-  which you can see below- where the first officer on the scene admits that the man they arrested wasn’t doing anything wrong when they rolled up and started asking for identification – without a state law enabling them to conduct a “stop and identify.”

The Ohio ACLU has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a diverse group of plaintiffs seeking free speech and some sense of normalcy for residents nearby the upcoming Republican National Convention next month, which you can read below.
Political speech is protected by the First Amendment, as is the right to free assembly, but Cleveland officials signaled that they’ll only issue 18 permits of 50 minute duration each to march on one single parade route near a national party’s convention.

Louisiana’s top educator filed an unusual lawsuit against a citizen, for requesting public records sufficient to give oversight to one of the largest government agencies in his state.
James Finney, is a mathematician from Baton Rouge, and he likes to work with numbers.
He’s requesting the records he needs to review the statewide Louisiana Department of Education for compliance and performance.

“Now, predictive judgements are no longer fiction” – ACLU video comparing “no-fly” and “terror watch” lists to movie Minority Report (below)
Federal “terrorist watch lists” and “no-fly lists” have grown massive, without a way or to challenge the listing by American citizens swept up in error.
An Ohio Senator recently signaled a willingness to push a bi-partisan compromise to fix the due process problem, by giving the other side gun controls on those listed.

The Alabama police department that had a man arrested on a felony charge of jamming up their emergency lines – even though he did not make a single call – is now taking heat from the local ACLU as well as the local newspaper.
But the Wetumpka Police Department is still sticking to its guns, threatening to arrest anybody else who posts their non-emergency phone number of  (334) 567-5321.

A New Jersey police department deactivated its Facebook account after local activists posted unfavorable comments on their page over the arrest of a prominent businessman and weed activist known as NJ Weedman.
Trenton police raided Ed Forchion’s restaurant, NJWeedman’s Joint back in April.
In March, police arrived at his religious cannabis temple, recognized by the state of New Jersey’s tax authorities, Liberty Bell Temple III, and asked the congregants inside to vacate the premises.

Boston police officer Edward Barrett, the off-duty cop seen attacking a pedestrian in a viral video, is being allowed to work during an internal investigation because he is not a “threat,” Commissioner William Evans said Tuesday during an appearance on Boston Public Radio.