RICHMOND, Va. -- The Third Circuit Court of Appeals re-affirmed citizens right to film police in a public place with their cellphones on Friday after a lower court judge in Pennsylvania ruled the act was not protected by the first amendment.
The case involved a college student in Philadelphia who was arrested for filming police breaking up a house party.
A judge sided with the police until the ACLU got involved and challenged the decision, which lead to the appellate court overturning the judge's decision.
Counter protestors are held back by riot police as the Ku Klux Klan leaves a staged rally on July 8, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The KKK is protesting the planned removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee, and calling for the protection of Southern Confederate monuments. (Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images)
"The judge who had decided that there wasn't a first amendment right to film the police was out of step with every other court that had looked at the issue," Claire Gastanaga, with the ACLU of Virginia, said.
Gastanaga said she occasionally sees instances where police officers do not recognize your right to film them.
So she recommends using her organization's Mobile Justice app to record video that will automatically be archived by the ACLU.
"We call our mobile app the people's body cam," Gastanaga said. "We then can review it in our office and make a decision as to whether your rights have been violated."
