Last Friday, Judge John deGravelles granted a preliminary injunction on the enforcement of the Louisiana 25-foot police buffer zone law, effectively pausing imposition of the law while the case continues to play out in court.
The law would have made it illegal to come within 25 feet of a police officer after being asked to step back.
In his ruling, deGravelles said that the law was too vague, and in doing so violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. DeGravelles also pointed to possible violations of the First Amendment.
“Plaintiffs have shown that journalists have routine contact with law enforcement officers in circumstances where they must choose between exercising their First Amendment right to cover newsworthy events or suffer the risk of arrest and persecution,” deGravelles said in court documents.
The preliminary injunction only creates a pause in the enforcement of the law, and the court case will continue to be battled out.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murill has continued to defend the law and has said that she will continue to fight for it in court. The plaintiffs in this court case, the six news organizations, will continue to seek the full striking of the law in future proceedings.
