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News :: Civil & Human Rights |
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ACLU Statement on Martel Miller Eavesdropping Charges |
Current rating: 0 |
by Paul Riismandel
Email: paul (nospam) mediageek.org (unverified!)
Address: P.O. Box 2102, Champaign, IL 61825-2102 |
10 Sep 2004
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This afternoon there was a press conference held at the Champaign Public LIbrary featuring statements from the Iliinois and Champaign Urbana branches of the American Civil Liberties Union and other community orgnizations on the recent charges of criminal eavesdropping made against two Champaign men, including Martel Miller. Miller was charged as a result of videotaping police conduct on public streets as part of a citizen watch effort of the organization he co-founded, Visionaries for Educating Youth and Adults (VEYA).
The statement of the Illinois ACLU is below.
Video footage recorded by VEYA is available at their website (http://www.veya.org/) and will be shown Saturday September 11th in the auditorium of the Champaign Public Library and again at 1pm on Sunday, September 12th at Boardman's Art Theatre in downtown Champaign.
Audio from the press conference, along with an interview with VEYA member Nicole Lamers, will air on WEFT 90.1's mediageek at 5:30 PM on Friday, Sept. 10. The program will be archived on-line at: http://www.mediageek.org/radioshow |
ACLU of Illinois
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF ILLINOIS 180 N. MICHIGAN # 2300 CHICAGO, IL 60601-1287
TEL: (312) 201-9740 FAX: (312) 201-9760 www.aclu-il.org
PRESS CONTACT: Adam Schwartz 312/201-9740-2316
Statement of September 10, 2004,
Regarding the Prosecution of Martel Miller
The ACLU of Illinois, along with its more than 15,000 members from every corner of the state, supports the right of an individual or organization to videotape government activity in a public place, including police detentions of civilians.
The First Amendment protects the public's right to seek redress for grievances from the government. This includes the right to collect information regarding the government's actions. The First Amendment also protects the freedom of the press to report on government actions, and the public's right to receive this news. These rights promote government accountability, one of our core national values.
These rights are especially important when it comes to law enforcement. One reasonable step to ensure police accountability is for civilians to monitor the behavior of police officers in the streets and sidewalks of their communities. Videotape is simply an effective monitoring technique, creating an object record of interactions between police and civilians. The videotape of the Rodney King beating is one example of the appropriate use of videotape to document law enforcement activity. A person standing in the public way ordinarily can have no reasonable expectation that their words or actions will remain private. This is especially true for government officials carrying out their public duties, Finally, videotaping ordinarily will not interfere with police officers in performing their duties.
Accordingly, the ACLU of Illinois calls upon the Champaign County State's Attorney to drop its prosecution of Marten Miller.
Thank you. |
See also:
http://www.veya.org/
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This work is in the public domain |
