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A Caucasian female was recording video of the Rochester police handcuffing an African-American male in the 19th Ward, a predominantly African-American neighborhood in Rochester, NY. The RPD arrested the female for video-taping their activities from her own front lawn. The woman arrested was charged with Obstructing Governmental Administration and has been bailed out of jail. She is awaiting her next hearing on June 27, 2011 in Rochester City Court.

Know Your Rights: Curtilage is the area surrounding a home where occupants have a reasonable, but diminished expectation of privacy from government intrusion. A police officer may have to have a warrant, consent, or exigency before entering into “curtilage.” As the U.S. Supreme Court noted in United States v. Dunn, (1) curtilage is the area immediately surrounding a residence that “harbors the intimate activity associated with the sanctity of a man’s home and the privacies of life.” (2) Curtilage, like ahouse, is protected under the fourth amendment from “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Furthermore, the first amendment protects your rights to stand on a public sidewalk.

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