Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement v. Kimberly Reynolds
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Affirmed
The Eighth Circuit affirmed dismissal of an as-applied First Amendment challenge to Iowa Code § 727.8A, which heightens criminal penalties for using a recording device while trespassing. The court held that, even when the property is otherwise open to the public and the owner merely asks the protestor to leave, application of the statute is a content-neutral time, place, and manner restriction that survives intermediate scrutiny.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether a state may criminalize the use of recording devices while a person is trespassing on private property that is otherwise open to the public without violating the First Amendment.
Circuit Positions
Recording while trespassing may be criminalized; statute survives intermediate scrutiny.
Recording of matters of public concern is protected; broad prohibitions on recording while trespassing violate the First Amendment unless the government proves no less-restrictive means.
Conflict Summary
The Eighth Circuit holds that statutes enhancing penalties for recording while trespassing are content-neutral, satisfy intermediate scrutiny, and may be applied so long as the defendant is a trespasser. The Fourth and Seventh Circuits apply a more speech-protective view, requiring heightened justification and often striking down or narrowing similar prohibitions as violative of the First Amendment.