Jean v. Massachusetts State Police, Civil No. 06-40031 (D. Mass. prelim. inj. issued April 7, 2006), aff’d, No. 06-1775, 492 F.3d 24, 35 Media L. Rep. 1929 (1st Cir. June 22, 2007).
Status: Preliminary injunction against defendant’s demand the video be removed from plaintiff’s website affirmed.

Political activist Mary Jean maintained a website, www.conte2006.com, critical of then- Worcester County, Mass. district attorney John Conte. On Jan. 29, 2006, she posted a video – captured by a “nanny-cam” -- of a warrantless search of a man arrested on a misdemeanor charge. Although the tape had been recorded illegally, Jean obtained it legally from the man whose home was searched. In a letter dated Feb. 14 and another dated March 29, the police department demanded removal of the video from the site. Jean then sued in federal court, seeking an injunction to bar the police from prosecuting her for displaying the tape on her site. The trial court granted the injunction in April 2006, and the appeals court affirmed in June 2007.

Links and Court Documents:
http://www.conte2006.com/arrest%20video.htm
http://www.legaline.com/2007/06/first-amendment-protects-posting-of.html
Preliminary injunction at http://www.conte2006.com/prelinjuct4706.htm
Appellate decision: http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/06-1775-01A.pdf