No Constitutional Right to Photograph Public Records
Plaintiff was hired to
perform a title search in Ward County, Texas. When inspecting the records
in the clerk’s office, he took photographs of the records on his cell phone. He was told that if he did not stop taking photographs, he would be arrested. Subsequently, he was terminated from the job, and filed suit against the county
and county clerk, claiming that the county's “no photograph policy” violated his due
process rights. He also claimed that he was denied equal protection when the
county refused to accommodate his physical disability and that he should be awarded
damages because he was fired from his job.
The district court ruled in favor of the county, and the Fifth Circuit
affirmed, rejecting all of Bonnet's claims. Bonnet
v. Ward County, No.
13-50007 (5th Cir. Aug. 30, 2013).
The Circuit first held that
there is no protected right to access particular government information or
sources of information under U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Even if such a right existed, the plaintiff
was not deprived of it because he had access to the records - he simply could
not photograph them. The court held that the county's rationale for the policy –
that records that were copied or photographed were often lost or misplaced by
the user - was reasonable.
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