Cook County Judge Rules Illinois Eavesdropping Law Unconstitutional In Chris Drew Case [lyK6K6Bbx1M]

A landmark Cook County ruling invalidates the Illinois eavesdropping statute after a street artist faced felony charges for recording his own arrest on a public sidewalk.

By Mike Hanson Archives | 2m listen | 1 chapters

Judge Stanley Sacks of the Cook County Circuit Court struck down the Illinois eavesdropping law as unconstitutional, ruling that the statute criminalizes innocent behavior. The decision follows the 2009 arrest of street artist Christopher Drew, who faced felony charges for using a digital recorder during his own arrest on a public Chicago street. Sacks determined the law's broad language violates the First Amendment by prohibiting the recording of public officials performing their duties.

The Cook County State’s Attorney office confirmed plans to appeal the ruling, which now moves directly to the Illinois Supreme Court for a final determination. This marks the second time a circuit court judge has invalidated the statute, following a similar 2011 ruling in Crawford County. Christopher Drew faced up to fifteen years in prison under the original felony classification, a penalty Judge Sacks characterized as an overreach of state power against non-consensual recording in public spaces.

Defense attorney Joshua Kutnick celebrated the victory for civil liberties while the legal community awaits the high court's response. The case highlights the ongoing tension between police privacy claims and the public right to document law enforcement. Christopher Drew remains a central figure in the national debate over transparency and the decriminalization of citizen journalism.

Illinois Eavesdropping Law Ruled Unconstitutional, Christopher Drew Case

Judge Stanley Sacks ruled the Illinois eavesdropping law unconstitutional, stating the statute's language is overly broad and criminalizes innocent conduct. The case stems from the 2009 arrest of street artist Christopher Drew, who was charged with a felony for recording his own arrest on a public street. While the State's Attorney plans to appeal, the ruling moves directly to the Illinois Supreme Court as the second circuit court decision to invalidate the law.

00:00 In Illinois law that makes it illegal to make audio recordings of police officers has been ruled unconstitutional. The ruling involves the 2009 arrest of artist Christopher Drew He was charged with illegally eavesdropping after police found out he was recording the arrest ABC 7's Paul Mikey has more on this story thats new at 6 o'clock tonight I'm pretty happy after two plus years of following this. It's a good decision." Chris Drew is a street artist, been at it for long time. Here he is in front of Macy's two years ago December offering his art for sale police said you have to have a peddler's license or you'll be arrested drew said I don't go ahead and arrest me

00:42 They did, and police would later discover that Drew had made an audio recording of the arrest without their knowledge or permission. So they charged him with violating the state's eavesdropping law which is a felony. Drew went public with his battle against the law he calls absurd. His arrest was a public conversation with a public official on the public way no one's privacy was violated. to bring evidence into court and what that officer says to me in public, and that's what we were trying to do. Today Judge Stanley Sachs did not call the eavesdropping law absurd but more significantly he declared it unconstitutional saying its language is way too broad

01:21 What Judge Sacks said today is that the eavesdropping law is criminalizing innocent conduct and therefore it violates due process. Under the existing Illinois eavesdropping law you can, for instance record video of a police officer making an arrest on the public way but you can't record the audio unless you have permission. Judge Sacks ruling today that the laws unconstitutional will be appealed but the state's attorney says as much without great enthusiasm As the state's attorney I'm going to enforce the laws that are on the books That's the law that is on the books. So, you know we've tried this past three years to change our eavesdropping law in Springfield but it has gone nowhere."

02:00 State Representative Elaine Nekritz is sponsoring legislation that would change the state's eavesdropping law. Today's ruling by Judge Sachs adds more muscle to that effort. Sachs is the second circuit court judge in Illinois to declare the eavesdropping law unconstitutional, as such it goes directly to the state Supreme Court for a decision perhaps sometime this spring. Federal courts are watching too. Thanks Paul. Chicago Marine

Clip Generation

Cook County Judge Rules Illinois Eavesdropping Law Unconstitutional In Chris Drew Case [lyK6K6Bbx1M]

About this episode

Illinois Eavesdropping Law Ruled Unconstitutional, Christopher Drew Case