Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts - PLSMA

Plaintiff-Appellee seeks the disclosure of materials related to law enforcement’s actions surrounding a police shooting death under the Public Records Law. The specific disclosures Plaintiff-Appellee seeks bear a direct relation to the perceived legitimacy of the investigation surrounding the death and, ultimately, to the transparency and trust that lie at the heart of the Public Records Law and its recent amendments.

This brief argues that the First Amendment protects the right to record the police and that such recordings are a vital tool of community oversight of police.

In Irizarry v. Yehia the plaintiff is Abade Irizarry, a journalist/blogger who attempted to film a DUI stop until a police officer obstructed his ability to film first by standing in front of him and then by shining a light into his camera.