This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Tuesday, July 6, 2021.

I'm Caleb Brown.

Recording the police's constitutionally protected activity in Florida,

if only police would receive that message clearly and consistently.

Now while Florida Appeals Court has let police off the hook after a violent interaction with

a mother whose main transgression appears to have been recording cops doing their jobs in public.

Cato's James Craven details the case and why it matters.

States have different rules when it comes to recording and states have different rules when it comes to

recording police. Yes. So what do we understand about you know the first

amendment with respect to recording police.

So two things at play here.

First, all states have these wiretapping statutes,

but only a minority of them require what's called all-party

consent.

And Florida is one of those states where if you're going to record an interaction, everyone has to agree to it.

However, that kind of cuts against the First Amendment.

And federal court, federal circuit courts, in most circuits, it's easy to remember which ones it's every odd

circuit first third fifth seventh ninth eleventh

eleventh being particularly pertinent here because it's where Florida is have said

you have the right to record police and that means if you're in a public space police are doing public duties your right to record police trumps that wiretapping statute that says you can't record audio without all parties consent.

Yeah, the impulse behind the wiretapping statute which a lot of states have and it's kind of an odd use of the term wiretapping when it's your physically in the same space as someone else and your recording.

But the presumption is that you're talking about private parties and not public officials doing their public official duties.

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