When Is It OK to Use Technology to Evade the Police?

Modern technology is obviously invaluable to law enforcement's efforts to apprehend criminals, but the latest confluence of mobile technology and social media is also becoming a powerful tool for avoiding the police.

On his blog, law professor Jonathan Turley highlights the case of Elliot Madison, who he notes is now the subject of an intriguing constitutional fight with both federal and state authorities. Madison, "a self-described anarchist," was arrested during the recent G20 summit for using Twitter to send messages on the location of police during the G20 protests.

Madison claims that he was arrested because his tweets were helping people evade the police. Turley writes that "arresting someone for communications based on public observations is an abuse of authority and a violation of the Constitution." He points out that charging Madison for assisting criminal conduct based on his tweets would gut the First Amendment and create a chilling effect on citizen communications.

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Source: Legal Blog Watch