LatinoJustice Celebrates Major Victory for the “Right to Record”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
 
PRESS RELEASE  
 
September 30, 2024 
 
Press Contact: 
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LatinoJustice Celebrates Major Victory for the “Right to Record”   

New York, NY – A United States District Court Southern District of New York judge has denied the City’s Motion to dismiss the case of Reyes v. City of New York, 23-cv-6369, a case challenging the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) blanket ban on civilian recording in NYPD precincts, including its lobbies which are held open to the public 24/7 and are a critical site of every day community-police contact. 

The court has found that the plaintiff and LatinoJustice’s client, SeanPaul Reyes, known to his YouTube followers as “Long Island Audit,” has stated valid legal claims under the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, and the City and State Right to Record Acts and is entitled to proceed to the discovery phase of his case.  
 
The following statement can be attributed to Meena Roldán Oberdick, Associate Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF and who represented Mr. Reyes: 

“LatinoJustice applauds today’s decision allowing Mr. Reyes’ lawsuit to go forward.  Recording police officers is a right protected by the federal constitution and state law, and any infringement of this right must be carefully scrutinized. For far too long, the NYPD has considered itself to be above the law, but today’s decision is a much-needed step forward to correcting these wrongs. We look forward to continuing to vigorously challenge the NYPD’s illegal policy in court and are greatly encouraged by Judge Clarke’s ruling today.”