Man Who's Spent Three Years Challenging IL's Eavesdropping Act Suddenly Finds He Has No Case
from the this-is-how-it-ends,-not-with-a-bang,-but-with-a-moot dept
The oft-abused Illinois Eavesdropping Act that was recently found to be unconstitutional by the courts is at the center of one man's lawsuit against his local police force.
According to the filing, the plaintiff (Louis Frobe) suffers from insomnia, which has led to him spending a great deal of time outside of his house at night, either going to late movie showings or engaging in nocturnal animal-watching. As is to be expected, Frobe also spends a great deal of time interacting with local law enforcement (an estimated 40 times over a two-year period), who are prone to view people wandering around at night with suspicion.
Because these interactions rarely went well, Frobe decided to start recording his run-ins with the police. That didn't sit well with one officer, who arrested him under the Eavesdropping Act in 2010. Charges were never filed, but Frobe was concerned enough about future arrests that he sought a permanent injunction against the police to prevent them from arresting him under this act.
Thanks to the ACLU's victory in court, the state's Eavesdropping Act can no longer be applied in this fashion (i.e., recording police officers while on duty and in public places). The state Attorney General was ordered to cease prosecution of those who "violated" the unconstitutional law. According to the presiding judge, this rendered Frobe's complaint moot.
The attorney general has since publicly stated that it "will not prosecute or assist in prosecuting Frobe under the [IEA], because any prosecution of Frobe under the facts in his complaint would run afoul of the First Amendment."Frobe stated in his suit that this declaration not to prosecute doesn't necessarily mean local police won't attempt to file charges against him for recording, but Pallmeyer pointed out (with several citations) that the state AG needs to be taken at his word until proven otherwise. This decision doesn't look like it will necessarily curb the number of run-ins Frobe will have with the police, but at least it means he's free to use his camera to keep them honest.
"In the instant case, defendants have given public notice of the policy change, they have explained their reasoning, and they have abandoned the defense of the IEA as constitutional. Thus, it is not 'difficult to conclude that there is no reasonable expectation that plaintiff would be prosecuted under the statute in the future,'" the judge said.
While Frobe unquestionably had standing to challenge the Act when he filed his lawsuit, subsequent federal court rulings in other cases have succeeded in their challenges to the Act, and public officials have conceded the issue.
"Since the time of those decisions and public declarations, there have been no new prosecutions. In short, plaintiff Frobe no longer has a reasonable expectation that the Act will be enforced against him. His claim for injunctive relief is moot," Pallmeyer concluded.
With the State AG declaring there will be no prosecution under this act, that only leaves the Cook County's state's attorney Robert Bonjean III who, along with Police Chief Tony Grootens, declared back in August that they would be selectively prosecuting cases of those charged under the unconstitutional act. This drew heat from the Illinois ACLU, which sent a letter demanding to know what exactly Bonjean meant by refusing to issue a "blanket statement" and vowing to prosecute on a "case-by-case basis."
At the point we covered it here, there had been no response. But it looks at though Bonjean has decided to join the rest of the state and follow the court's instruction.
State’s Attorney Robert Bonjean III will not be prosecuting anyone in Morgan County for audio-recording police officers performing their public duties in public places.So, now it's unanimous (finally). While the police may be highly uncomfortable with being filmed while on duty, they'll just have to tough it out. The law's no longer theirs to abuse.
Bonjean has conveyed that assurance to the American Civil Liberties Union in response to a letter the group sent seeking clarification about whether anyone would face charges under a 1960s eavesdropping law...
“Consistent with the Alvarez decision in the northern district of Illinois, which would apply if (the ACLU) applied for a preliminary injunction in the central district, the Morgan County State’s Attorney’s Office will not prosecute those individuals who audio-record on-duty police officers, which was the finding of the ACLU v. Alvarez case,” Bonjean said.
Chief Grootens also made a similar statement.
“Our department will not arrest civilians if they audio-record any on-duty police officers in a public place,” Grootens said in a one-paragraph letter to Schwartz, dated Aug. 28.
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Filed Under: eavesdropping, filming police, illinois, louis frobe
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Re:
Of course, now the cops will greet you with, "Please step inside this apartment so we can have a word with you..."
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This is why Bonjean kept repeating 'audio recording'.
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Something I've always wondered...
Wouldn't that mean that you'd be sentenced to immediate release?
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Re: Something I've always wondered...
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Illinois is a grotesque totalitarian police state
Justice in the Soviet Socialist Republic of Illinois is totally random and arbitrary, the elected sociopaths and bureaucrats do whatever they wish, without even worrying about the law. They have assumed the position of predators, totally unchecked by the rule of law. They initiate violence freely, and have no worry that property rights will be observed. Like most organized crime, they do as they please. They know they have "sovereign immunity."
Look up the case. My friend's name is Alex Cummings.
Additionally, the entire state of Illinois has simply denied the existence of the Second Amendment for years, and thousands have died because of this totalitarian denial of the Bill of Rights. Now that the 7th Circuit Court has struck down their gun ban as unconstitutional, will the slaves of Illinois finally be able to carry concealed? No. The state is simply going to treat the right like a privilege, and make you jump through hoops and register yourself for a future ATF raid if you are "uppity" enough to demand your right to self-defense. If you get 16 hours of training from a licensed sociopath, then maybe, they will let you carry a potential life-sentence on your person (should you ever actually have to defend yourself).
In IL, only the police are allowed to defend themselves, and only the police are allowed to commit murder, extortion, kidnapping, and theft. The little people had best stay out of the way of those who are above the law.
If you live in Illinois, there is no law --there are only stupid people who keep voting for totalitarian, unaccountable government, and keep doing the bidding of sociopath judges when they get seated on juries.
I wish the people of Illinois would wake up, but how can they? They got government school "educations," so they can't even identify the many ways they are enslaved. They won't even miss the money they lose to inflation, they won't even miss the money "withheld" from their paychecks. They can't imagine life without the government, and they can't imagine individual freedom.
In short: Illinois will ultimately commit political suicide, just like Soviet Russia did. The safest course of action is to leave Illinois and watch it collapse from a distance.
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Re: Illinois is a grotesque totalitarian police state
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Re: Illinois is a grotesque totalitarian police state
Plus, Illinois-ers get the government they vote for. Welcome to how a lot of non-Tea Party people feel like in the Deep South.
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Re: Illinois is a grotesque totalitarian police state
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Apple has a patent to disable "one or more functional or operational aspects of a wireless device, such as upon the occurrence of a certain event." For instance, the patent states, "Covert police or government operations may require complete 'blackout' conditions."
http://boingboing.net/2013/08/12/apple-patents-tech-that-lets-g.html
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Chief Speaks
Our department will not arrest civilians if they audio-record any on-duty police officers in a public place
So does this mean that they will arrest you if you film them in a private business? or your home? While this is probably over analyzing, this guy does seem to give words a twist when he speaks. (Reference his previous statement: "He honestly thought he was OK to do it, so now if he continues to do it, I can’t tell you that he certainly won’t be arrested.”
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Re: Chief Speaks
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Illinois Eavesdropping Still Alive
Video: http://www.illinoiscorruption.net/common/video-pressrelease.html
Press Release: http://www.illinoiscorruption.net/common/pressrelease.html
Please support this cause. The Illinois Eavesdropping law at its very core creates a two-class legal system wherein the conversations of the powerful and well-connected are protected to the detriment of the less powerful. The upcoming oral argument presents a unique opportunity for the common citizen to re-establish that legal balance that will unequivocally establish a right to record public officials in their public duties.
Therefore, please contribute to this all-important hearing by either attending it, writing about it, spreading the word or just forwarding the below video and press release to anybody who might be of any help.
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