Will Your Cellphone Make You a Criminal?

A forum on the rising wave of repression against people who document dissent and police misconduct.

In Illinois, it is a major criminal offense to use a cell phone to audio record the police – EVEN IN A PUBLIC SPACE!  You can be sentenced to 15 years in prison!  Only 1 other state makes this a crime.  Why does Illinois have this law?  Why does our police force want to conceal its actions?

Cell phones give everyday people amazing power to document injustices, protests, and misconduct by police and officials.  Look how important they were to ordinary citizens across North Africa and the Middle East who used this technology during the “Arab Spring” to record and share the truth of their lives and their uprisings.

But in our country, police and prosecutors are taking increasingly repressive steps to stop this use of smart phones by arresting people who record events, even when it’s perfectly legal.

Meet with a panel of notable legal experts to get the facts:

Robert Johnson successfully represented Tiawanda Moore, who faced felony eavesdropping charges for audiotaping police as she attempted to have an officer investigated who sexually accosted her.  Mr. Johnson is a partner at the Chicago civil rights firm of Smith, Johnson & Antholt, LLC. (www.lawsja.com).

Jed Stone, a criminal defense lawyer from Waukegan, Illinois, is a fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers who has been recognized as a Leading Lawyer in criminal trial defense and criminal appeals. He has appeared regularly on the Chicago Lawyer’s list of top criminal defense lawyers. Mr. Stone represents Gregory Koger, who is appealing misdemeanor convictions stemming from videotaping a peaceful statement at a public meeting of the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago (www.dropthecharges.net).

Mark Weinberg, a civil rights attorney in Chicago, represents Chris Drew, who faces felony eavesdropping charges for audiotaping his own arrest as he challenged Chicago’s restrictions on artists selling their works on public streets (www.art-teez.org).

For more information, adhoc4reason@gmail.com, depaul.nlg@gmail.com or 312-593-4191

Sponsored by DePaul University College of Law and Chicago-Kent College of Law Chapters of the National Lawyers Guild, Ad Hoc Committee for Reason, Chicago Women’s Caucus for Art, the Chicago Chapter of World Can’t Wait, and ACLU Illinois.

Wednesday, November 9 at 6 P.M.

DePaul University College of Law, 25 East Jackson, Rm. 241 Lewis

Come learn about the only juvenile, first-time offender in the United States who is serving a mandatory federal life sentence for a non-violent drug offense. Reynolds Wintersmith received a federal sentence of life without parole for a drug offense committed when he was 17. He remains in federal prison notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Graham v. Florida, which found it unconstitutional for juveniles to be sentenced to life without parole sentences. Come hear about his case from his federal defender, and learn about how you can help!

Date: Thursday, September 29

Time: 11:50-12:50

Room: DePaul Law, Lewis Building, 1 E. Jackson, Room 805

Snacks provided!