City attorney feels as though he gets to decide which of your rights are valid and when.
When a town attorney—the very person hired to advise a municipality on the law—completely disregards the United States Constitution, it raises massive red flags.
Meet Richard Harris the city attorney for Port Jefferson, NY.
Here is the breakdown of what happened in Port Jefferson, New York, when a journalist walked into a public building recording to request a FOIA form.
The Official: Richard Harris, the town attorney. As a legal professional representing a municipality, Harris is expected to have a flawless, comprehensive understanding of constitutional law and public access rights.
Instead of upholding the law, Harris is seen explicitly attempting to override it. He orders the journalist to stop recording and leave the public premises, acting as though he possesses the personal authority to determine when and where a citizen's rights are valid.
Harris threatens to call law enforcement and physically steps in to block the journalist from moving down public hallways toward the clerk’s office.
Local constables and code enforcement personnel are brought into the mix to enforce Harris’s unconstitutional demands, escalating a simple paperwork request into a full-blown confrontation.
When police supervisors arrive on the scene, he does hit them with the dose of reality as he educats the building on the rights of journalist.
When public officials freak out over a camera in a public lobby, it begs the ultimate question: What exactly are they trying to hide?
It's one thing when you have a new member of law enforcement that might be confused on the laws and the rights of citizens. They can be educated to correct those errors, however it's a whole different ball game when you have actually attorneys and judges with that same level of ignorance and disregard for the rights of the citizens. They absolutely should know better which Typically means their actions are on purpose.