A federal judge blocked a Louisiana law that allows police to arrest people who come within 25 feet of an on-duty law enforcement officer after they have been ordered to disperse. The police buffer law violates the Fourteenth Amendment because it is too vague, said U.S. District Court Judge John deGravelles, reports Nola.com. The law is not clear as to what actions might prompt officers to issue an order to retreat and it lacks standards that officers should follow in issuing such orders, the judge said. "The threat of arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement is great," deGravelles wrote. The judge granted a preliminary injunction and barred the state from enforcing the law while the legal challenge is pending.
News organizations sued after the law was enacted last year. Not only is the statute too vague, they argued, but it constitutes a violation of journalists' First Amendment right to observe and report on newsworthy events. "Plaintiffs’ First Amendment right to gather the news is likely to be impaired if the Act is not enjoined," deGravelles wrote. State Attorney General Liz Murrill said the law "is a reasonable time, place, and manner restriction from obstructing and interfering with working police." Her office said no one has been prosecuted for violating the law.
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