"A statute intended to prevent unwarranted intrusions into a citizen’s privacy cannot be used as a shield for public officials who cannot assert a comparable right of privacy in their public duties. Such action impedes the free flow of information concerning public officials and violates the First Amendment right to gather such information. ... The [Illinois Eavesdropping Statute] includes conduct that is unrelated to the statute’s purpose and is not rationally related to the evil the legislation sought to prohibit. For example, a defendant recording his case in a courtroom has nothing to do with an intrusion into a citizen’s privacy but with distraction. ... The court finds the Illinois Eavesdropping Statute is unconstitutional on its face and as applied to the defendant as the statute is violative of substantive due process." | Quote by: | |
Source: | In a 12-page order entered September 15, 2011, in People v Michael D. Allison, No 2009-CF-50, Judge David K. Frankland of the circuit court of Crawford County held that the Illinois Eavesdropping Act is unconstitutional in that it violates substantive due process and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Michael Allison faced up to to 75 years in prison for recording his encounters with police officers and a judge.
http://www.isba.org/ibj/2011/12/lawpulse/istheillinoiseavesdroppingactuncons |
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