Another Blow for IL Anti-Eavesdropping Law

Enlarge image

Credit Wikimedia Commons

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a blow to an Illinois anti-eavesdropping law. The high court let stand a lower-court ruling Monday that said the law violates free-speech rights when used against people who tape police in public. Violators of the law face a maximum 15-year prison term.

The laws opponents say the right to record helps guard against police abuses. American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Harvey Grossman says the decision sends the case back to U.S. District Court. A federal judge could now make a temporary injunction against the law permanent, and legislators are already making moves to change the law.