Since it’s founding in 1920, the ACLU has held steadfast to the singularly important goal of holding America and American lawmakers accountable to the values set forth in our US Constitution. 
UPDATE 5/8/2012: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled for the ACLU of Illinois in a case involving Illinois’ controversial eavesdropping law and the right to audio record police in public. Read more.
We are challenging the application of Illinois’ Eavesdropping Act to the arrest or prosecution of individuals who make audio recordings of public conversations with police, conversations with 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.
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The case filed in August 2010 grows out of a number of instances in which individuals or organizations that wanted to monitor police activity in order to detect any police misconduct. The ACLU brought the lawsuit on behalf of the organization because we frequently monitor police behavior and would like to make audio recordings of police in performing their public duties. We assert that the ACLU has a First Amendment right to gather this information, disseminate that information to the public and with courts and government agencies in petitioning for redress of grievances.
The district court granted the government’s motion to dismiss the case. We appealed that decision to the Seventh Circuit, where the case is now pending.
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Victory for First Amendment Right to Audio Record Police
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois in a case involving Illinois’ controversial eavesdropping law. The ACLU is... Continue reading
