6 ms·
One of the key points this analysis fails to mention is that Reyes is an independent journalist, publishing content of public interest about government transpar
by jawns 3y ago
One of the key points this analysis fails to mention is that Reyes is an independent journalist, publishing content of public interest about government transparency, so the First Amendment implications extend not only to freedom of speech/expression but also freedom of press.
Why does that matter?
"That the First Amendment speaks separately of freedom of speech and freedom of the press is no constitutional accident, but an acknowledgment of the critical role played by the press in American society," wrote Justice Potter Stewart in Houchins v. KQED, Inc. (1978)
In that ruling, the court noted that journalists do not enjoy privileged access -- that is, they don't enjoy _greater_ access to government-run spaces than the general public. But neither do they enjoy _less_ access. So if it is permitted for a member of the public to be in a particular location, then it is permitted for a member of the press to be in that location as well.
All of the concerns raised about privacy implications, such as Reyes' potentially recording the location of security cameras in the lobby, are a red herring. A person with nefarious intent could very easily surreptitiously record that information without detection, or could merely jot down the details on a notepad and then disseminate them. But Reyes films conspicuously to highlight the absurdity of these supposed privacy violations. The Supreme Court has held that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in public, and the government has a duty to _create_ privacy for private information, such as keeping sensitive documents outside of public view, or blocking the public's view of restricted areas, since merely viewing a restricted area from a publicly accessible area is legal, for as the law says, "the eye cannot trespass."
- voxic11 3y agoI always thought "the press" referred to the printing press and in a modern setting is taken to mean that the first amendment covers not only the spoken word (freedom of speech) but also the creation and distribution of media (freedom of the press).
- jagged-chisel 3y agoThat’s correct. But it’s not at odds with considering “the press” as “journalists and their publishers.”
- rtkwe 3y agoEven if we read it as the literal printing press at the time that was the way news and information was distributed in large quantities. The press as a term for new media in general seems to be a late 1800s invention but the coverage is pretty clear from the First Amendment still.
- salawat 3y agoFunny how this courtesy is never extended to Amendments 2, 4, or 10.
- Kye 3y agoNot only is there existing case law and an entire concept addressing limitations, it frequently comes up in First Amendment cases. https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/compelling-state-interest/ https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/compelling-state-int...
- dragonwriter 3y agoThat's exactly the issue: if the public is entitled to something, it can be published, and those intending to publish it can not therefore be barred from it or from the means to do so. Well, except for open public courts, for reasons. (The judiciary’s concern for the the freedom of the press has limits where it comes to the judiciary itself, rather than other government institutions.)
- Dharejoe 3y ago[dead]
- cryptonector 3y agoThe literal printing press has freedom? What? No, it's "the press" that has freedom, and in 1791 that was understood to be "people and organizations that operate printing presses". That a printing press was involved is just an accident of the stage of technological development at which the First Amendment was written. The courts have rightly extended that freedom to other technologies than the printing press.
- dragonwriter 3y ago> The literal printing press has freedom? What? No, it's "the press" that has freedom. No, the people have freedom to use the press, just like the same Amendment protects the freedom to use speech.
- cryptonector 3y agoYes, thank you for the absolutely correct correction!
- Hikikomori 3y agoAnd the lobby security camera recording is public and can be requested.
- Dharejoe 3y ago[dead]