Justin Bieber photographer: Experts say new paparazzi laws not needed
Since the late 1990s, California has seen its
anti-paparazzi laws evolve. Initially, the law passed in the wake of the
Princess Diana’s 1997 death in a Paris tunnel expanded California trespass law
by creating civil damages in cases in which a person knowingly entered a private property
to capture, images or sound of personal or family activity when that physical
invasion would be offensive to a reasonable person. The law also created the
concept of constructive invasion of privacy with the idea that no person could
use a telephoto lens or microphones to intrude on a property.
In 2005, after a flurry of incidents
involving Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and Lindsay Lohan, California
increased the penalties for such privacy intrusions and also added the ability
to sue for an assault committed with intent to capture a visual image.
In 2009, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, with
the support of the Screen Actors Guild and with a strong push by actress Jennifer
Aniston, got a law on the books that imposed civil fines of up to $50,000 for
anyone who buys a photograph illegally taken.
Then, in 2010, state lawmakers enacted
legislation that made it a crime to recklessly drive in pursuit of a commercial
photograph, with punishment of up to a year in jail if a minor was involved.
Last year, a Los Angeles
County Superior Court judge threw out charges related to the first-of-its-kind
anti-paparazzi law in a case involving Bieber being chased on the 101 Freeway
by a photographer.
The judge said the law
violated 1st Amendment protections by overreaching and potentially affecting
such people as wedding photographers or photographers speeding to a location
where a celebrity is present.
The Los Angeles city
attorney’s office is now appealing that decision.
Bieber was pulled over by the
CHP on the 101 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley and
cited for driving his Fisker sports car at high speed. The pop star said then
he was being chased by a photographer, Paul Raef.
Raef’s attorney, Dmitry
Gorin, agreed that new anti-paparazzi laws are unnecessary.
“There are plenty of other
laws on the books to deal with these issues. There is always a rush to create a
new paparazzi law every time something happens,” he said. “Any new law on the
paparazzi is going to run smack into the 1st Amendment. Truth is, most conduct
is covered by existing laws. A lot of this is done for publicity.”
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