Supreme Court Calls for a Response In Case Challenging Massachusetts Law Outlawing Americans’ Right to Record

​On Tuesday, the Supreme Court asked the Massachusetts Attorney General to respond to the petition in Project Veritas Action Fund v. Rollins, a case challenging a Massachusetts law that forbids public recording. This is a hopeful sign that at least one Justice is interested in hearing how that law – recently upheld by the First Circuit Court of Appeals – can be squared with the First Amendment.
 
Protect the 1st (PT1) filed an amicus brief in this case last month. In our brief, PT1 addressed a string of examples of undercover journalism that would have been lost if laws like Massachusetts’s were widespread. Such journalism has long helped to reform laws and expose wrongdoers.
 
This call for a response is a good sign. Not only does the case live another day, but it also allows the case to be fully briefed by the parties before the Justices decide whether to hear it. We’ll continue to monitor this case as new developments arise.