ICAP represents award-winning journalist April Fonseca in a civil rights challenge to her arrest while reporting on a police operation clearing an encampment from a park in Medford, Oregon. Although the police allowed cleanup volunteers into the park during the clearance, they barred journalists and observers. When Ms. Fonseca attempted to document the event, police arrested her.
After criminal charges were dismissed, Ms. Fonseca filed suit alleging violations of her First and Fourth Amendment rights, alongside state-law claims for battery and false arrest. The district court denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgment in full and rejected their claim of qualified immunity. ICAP has joined the case to represent Ms. Fonseca in the defendants’ appeal of the qualified-immunity ruling to defend the fundamental right of the press to document police activity in public spaces.
From the Brief:
Constitutional safeguards for the press’s ability to report on government operations cannot be disregarded because officials see them as inconvenient or would prefer to carry out enforcement actions away from public view.
Oral Argument:
