Recently the mainstream media have reported numerous protests near the homes (DC area) of US Supreme Court justices in light of the Politico leak of Justice Alito’s draft of an opinion (from February) that would reverse Roe v. Wade (after almost 50 years).
Numerous observers have also noted that protesting loudly near a SCOTUS Justice’s home is illegal, under US Code 18 paragraph 1507 (Cornell Law), which makes it an offense to picket or parade at a judge’s residence or business (although not outside a large government building like SCOTUS) with the intention of changing an outcome (the same applies to picketing jurors). That may be one reason why grand jury proceedings are in secret.
Washington Post columnist notes all this with an op-ed (paywall) by Marc A. Thiessen, May 10, 'Protesting at justices’ homes is illegal. What is Biden doing about it?'. Guest articles about this question have shown up in my mail inbox.
I want to pose another question. If I went to film it (not participate) but then post it on social media, should it be taken down (especially if livestreamed)? Would that violate a TOS rule?
If a “legitimate” media company does it to report the news, that is one thing. But does the First Amendment protect my right to do this as an amateur however gratuitously as a form of self-expression? You can, normally, after all, videotape the police (and it’s a good thing a teenager did at the Floyd incident in Minneapolis).(Note: Arizona is trying to pass a law limiting this, as of 2022/10).
Maybe the critical issue would be, does the content creator do this for a living (and can ‘e’ demonstrate legitmate occupational use with accounting?)
I'm presuming that the content creators or videographers did not participate in the protest by carrying a sign or screaming in unison themselves. That makes it a "skin in the game" kind of problem, which is particularly how the "Left" sees it. This reflects back to the reasons for my own web simplification, which I'll get into more detail later.
(Posted: Wednesday, May 11, 2022 at 9 PM EDT by John W. Boushka)