A federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of a state law, approved last year, that creates a buffer zone around police, making it a criminal offense to come within 25 feet of a working officer after being ordered to step back, reported the Louisiana Illuminator.
The preliminary injunction was issued Friday in response to
a lawsuit filed in July by six media companies, including Verite
News’ parent company Deep South Today, asking for the law to be blocked.
The media groups — represented by the Washington-based
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Louisiana attorneys Scott
Sternberg and Marcia Suzanne Montero — say the law could interfere with journalists’
First Amendment rights to cover police actions and expose police misconduct.
They also argue the law is unconstitutionally vague, allowing police to invoke
the buffer arbitrarily.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who is a defendant
in the suit, contends that the law is a common-sense public safety measure that
will protect police officers while they are on the job. In a December court hearing, attorneys representing Murrill also
argued that the media groups’ suit is based on purely hypothetical grounds, as
the law has yet to be enforced since it took effect in August.
But in his ruling, Judge John deGravelles of Louisiana’s Middle
District, said the threat to newsgathering warrants immediate action.
“Plaintiffs’ journalists are regularly within 25 feet of
peace officers, and now face the threat of arrest and prosecution if an order
to retreat is given,” deGravelles wrote. “The distance required is likely to
impede Plaintiffs’ non-obstructive newsgathering. … Therefore, the Act has a
chilling effect on Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights,” even if it has not yet
been enforced.”
DeGravelles, a federal court appointee of former President
Barack Obama, also agreed with the plaintiffs that the law is overly vague.
“Here, while the Act clearly states that an officer can
enforce a 25-foot buffer zone, it lacks any standard by which an officer may
issue an order to stand back or retreat,” the judge wrote.
Louisiana is one of several states that have passed police buffer
zone laws. Similar laws in Arizona and Indiana have faced legal challenges on
constitutional grounds. The Arizona law was struck down in 2022. The Indiana
law has faced two separate challenges. In one case, the law was upheld. In
another, it was struck down.
The preliminary injunction will be effective while the
case is pending. The plaintiffs’ ultimate goal is a permanent block on the law.
In a statement, Murrill said she had not seen the ruling yet
but would “continue to defend the law.”
“We think it is a reasonable time, place and manner
restriction from obstructing and interfering with working police,” Murrill
said. “We are trying to protect the public. This is a reasonable law.”
To read more CLICK HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment