Illinois' strict eavesdropping law, which prohibits people from making audio recordings of police officers working in public, should be declared unconstitutional, an attorney representing a Chicago artist charged under the statute argued in court Tuesday.
The law is meant to prevent people from secretly recording private conversations, but it "is not designed to protect police conduct that is open and in public," attorney Joshua Kutnick told Cook County Judge Stanley Sacks.
Kutnick represents Chris Drew, 61, who was arrested in December 2009 for selling art on State Street in the Loop without a permit. Drew used an audio recorder in his pocket to capture his conversations with police during the arrest and was charged with eavesdropping on a public official, a felony that carries up to 15 years in prison.
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