SIMON GLIK v. JOHN CUNNIFFE, PETER J. SAVALIS and JEROME HALL-BREWSTER, and the CITY OF BOSTON

Simon Glik was arrested for illegal wiretapping for openly using his cell phone to record police brutality by the Boston police. Our lawsuit, brought with the ACLU of Mass., argued that the arrest violated Mr. Glik’s clearly established constitutional rights. The Defendants lost a motion to dismiss and appealed to the First Circuit. David Milton argued the appeal. The appeals court’s landmark decision in August 2011 declared that the First Amendment protects the right to record police carrying out their duties in a public place. The First Circuit’s persuasive reasoning has been cited by courts and lawyers nationwide facing the recurrent issue of police arresting people for filming them. Glik v. Cunniffe, 655 F.3d 78 (1st Cir. 2011)