In a stunning decision, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that a Homestead, Florida man could secretly record a meeting with the police chief since the chief did not designate the meeting as private. A Florida law requires the consent of the person being recorded, but the court found that the meeting fell under open-government expectations subject to “sunshine” provisions with “all attendees of the meeting…either public employees acting in furtherance of their public duties, or members of the public discussing a matter of public interest, [thus] undermin[ing] any objective expectation of privacy.” (Miami Herald, July 21, 2017, by Jay Weaver)
The local state attorney threatened Jame McDonough with prosecution if he ever recorded a meeting without consent. McDonough sued, claiming the threat of violated his First Amendment right to free speech. The court ruled for him saying since the chief didn’t establish an expectation of privacy, there was no basis in the law for prosecution. (Chicago Tribune, July 22, 2017, by the Associated Press)