Scott D. Pitta v. Dina Medeiros, Individually and in Her Official Capacity as Administrator of Special Education for the Bridgewater Raynham Regional School District, et al.
SocialSecurity FirstAmendment DueProcess Securities Privacy JusticiabilityDoctri Jurisdiction
Whether the act of recording a government employee engaged in his or her duties is inherently expressive activity entitled to First Amendment protection
QUESTIONS PRESENTED Petitioner, father of a public school student with special needs, wanted to video-record a “virtual” meeting between himself and school employees that he attended “virtually” from his home. Petitioner sought to video-record this meeting because Respondents omitted important information from minutes of previous meetings. But Respondents refused. Petitioner sued, arguing that he has a First Amendment right to record government employees engaged in their duties. But while many circuits, including the First Circuit, recognize this right in a general sense, the court here announced that the First Amendment only protects recording government officials while they are performing their duties in a public space, and only if the recording would serve the public interests. It based this conclusion on a proposition over which the circuits are divided, namely that video-recording is not “inherently expressive.” The questions presented are: 1. Whether the act of recording a government employee engaged in his or her duties is inherently expressive activity entitled to First Amendment protection. 2. Whether a citizen has a presumptive right to record government employees when that individual is lawfully present.