CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–September 13, 2011. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois today asked a federal appellate court to block future prosecutions of the ACLU and its staff members for recording police officers performing their public duties in a public space as a violation of the First Amendment. The oral argument on Tuesday morning is the latest action in an ACLU lawsuit filed in federal court in August of 2010. The ACLU of Illinois is defending its program monitoring police conduct and practices r on the streets of Chicago. The information that the ACLU gathers in monitoring protests and other events is used to advocate for changes in police policies. The use of the eavesdropping statute to prosecute individuals who make recordings of police when they interact with individuals on the streets means that the ACLU is barred from making audio recordings of police who are performing their public duties in a public place and speaking in a voice loud enough to be heard by the unassisted human ear.
