[Peace] Eavesdropping Press Conference Friday 9/10 - reminder

[Kimberlie Kranich]

Please forward and attend if you can. Fifty people attended Mr. Miller's arraignment on Wednesday for moral support!!!
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PRESS ADVISORY

URBANA CITY OFFICIALS BAN SHOWING OF VIDEO DOCUMENTING CHAMPAIGN POLICE TRAFFIC STOPS

PUBLIC SCREENINGS THIS WEEKEND

A press conference showing clips from the police-seized and Urbana city-banned documentary that shows Champaign Police stops of African-Americans and their white counterparts made by E. Martell Miller and Patrick Thompson, defendants in an eavesdropping case and co-founders of VEYA, Visionaries Educating Youth and Adults, will be held at 2pm, Friday, September 10 in the auditorium of the Champaign Public Library on Randolph Street.   

 

The banned and seized documentary will be shown to the public at 4pm, Saturday, September 11 in the auditorium of the Champaign Public Library on Randolph St. and 1pm, Sunday, September 12 at Boardman’s Art Theatre in downtown Champaign.  

 

The original documentary was turned over to Urbana Police by staff at Urbana Public Access Television (UPTV) without a warrant.  The video is being used by the state’s attorney’s office against Mr. Miller and Mr. Thompson as part of an investigation into eavesdropping charges against them filed by assistant state’s attorney Elizabeth Dobson.  The documentary was supposed to air on UPTV on August 25, 2004.  

 

UPTV has banned airing of the documentary. 

 

On Friday, a grand jury indicted Mr. Miller on three counts of eavesdropping, including one count stemming from the seized documentary voluntarily given to police by UPTV staff.

 

One segment of the video shows assistant state’s attorney Elizabeth Dobson videotaping Mr. Thompson while he is videotaping the police.

 

“If this law is applied fairly and by that I mean to all citizens,” said Bruce Ratcliffe, attorney for Mr. Miller, “it means you can’t take a video camera to a wedding, or a high school football game, or even to the 4th of July parade, unless you get permission of every single person there, and that’s just plain silly.”

 

 “What law allows Ms. Dobson to videotape Mr. Thompson in public?  What law allows the news media to tape people in public without their permission? The US Constitution. The same law that allows Mr. Miller and Mr. Thompson to videotape the police in public. These charges against Mr. Miller and Mr. Thompson are a threat to the first amendment rights of us all.” said Rev. Jermone Chambers, minister of Temple Liberty Church.

 

“Furthermore, UPTV’s refusal to air a copy of the documentary is censorship and a violation of Mr. Miller and Mr. Thompson’s first amendment rights.”

 

The eavesdropping charges against Mr. Miller and Mr. Thompson are based on 720 ILCS 5/14-1.   The law defines an eavesdropper as “any person, including law enforcement officers…who operates or participates in the operation of any eavesdropping device.”  According to the law, eavesdropping occurs when the “sending and receiving parties intend the electronic communication to be private…and the electronic communication is accomplished by a device in a surreptitious manner.”  

 

A full copy of the law may be viewed at: www.leg.state.il.us 

 

 

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