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Alvarez's office said it was preparing a statement, but had no immediate response to the ruling. The court described her position as "extreme." "She contends that openly recording what police officers say while performing their duties in traditional public fora
-- streets, sidewalks, plazas, and parks -- is wholly unprotected by the First Amendment. This is an extraordinary argument," the ruling read. Protest organizers praised the court action. "We have had this just ridiculously long fight with the city around the right to protest here," said Joe Isobaker, of the Coalition Against NATO/G-8 War & Poverty Agenda. "And this just serves to confirm the correctness of our stance, which is that we have the right to speak out against war and greed and the other evils of our society." In the state capital, a Senate bill that would rewrite the law to formally include an exception for people recording police officers at work in public places is awaiting a vote in the House. An earlier bill failed in a House vote, but the measure has been revised to reflect some of the concerns of law enforcement officials. One of its sponsors, Rep. Elaine Nekritz, said the right to record police was vital to guard against abuses. "I think citizens have First Amendment rights to protect themselves against an overreaching government and this is one way they can do that," she said.
[Associated
Press;
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