Not a constitutional law fag, but the Bill of Rights has the First Amendment to the US Constitution front and center because the founders viewed these rights of utmost importance. Check it out: The Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School:
FIRST AMENDMENT
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Over the years, US Supreme Court decisions have interpreted these rights to reinforce the idea that the "press" (really just US citizens which includes all of us) have the right to question their government representatives, which includes law enforcement.
In my experience, most cops, (if they're not in the heat of the moment or trying to cite or arrest you and you are being a D--K), are more than to happy to answer any general questions citizens may have.
Of course, if the questions deal with some info they do not want to disclose because it would interfere with an ongoing investigation or some other legal reason, that's a different matter.
The comment above was a plea to people who are out there randomly posting things and speculating, to do a little homework and get their facts in order before spewing stuff out into the Webesphere.
Check out this link or one of the many others with a cursory web search, fellow Pede.
Whether you run a blog, live-stream to social media, or want to document and share a recording of a significant event, it's more important than ever to do your homework and be prepared. If you understand your rights and are comfortable with the risks, you can make a big impact as a citizen journalist.
Again, the point is to use discernment, logic, reasoning when contributing information to the Web.
If a person is smart enough to use a smart phone, stick it on the web and pimp traffic to the link on boards such as these, they're smart enough to up their game and bump up the quality of the "content."
Not a constitutional law fag, but the Bill of Rights has the First Amendment to the US Constitution front and center because the founders viewed these rights of utmost importance. Check it out: The Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School:
FIRST AMENDMENT
Over the years, US Supreme Court decisions have interpreted these rights to reinforce the idea that the "press" (really just US citizens which includes all of us) have the right to question their government representatives, which includes law enforcement.
In my experience, most cops, (if they're not in the heat of the moment or trying to cite or arrest you and you are being a D--K), are more than to happy to answer any general questions citizens may have.
Of course, if the questions deal with some info they do not want to disclose because it would interfere with an ongoing investigation or some other legal reason, that's a different matter.
The comment above was a plea to people who are out there randomly posting things and speculating, to do a little homework and get their facts in order before spewing stuff out into the Webesphere.
Check out this link or one of the many others with a cursory web search, fellow Pede.
Citizen Journalists: Know Your Rights
Again, the point is to use discernment, logic, reasoning when contributing information to the Web.
If a person is smart enough to use a smart phone, stick it on the web and pimp traffic to the link on boards such as these, they're smart enough to up their game and bump up the quality of the "content."
That is all.