What is Turner v. Driver?
For those who don’t know, Philip Turner in Turner v. Driver is actually one of the more established 1st amendment auditors out there; he is better known as The Battousai.
In the case of Phillip Turner v. Lieutenant Driver, Officer Grinalds, and Officer Dyess, commonly known as Turner v. Driver, Philip Turner was arrested for filming a police station in Fort Worth from across the street. The case is PHILLIP TURNER v. LIEUTENANT DRIVER OFFICER GRINALDS 3825 OFFICER DYESS 2586 (2017).
Turner was initially questioned by the officers and refused to provide identification, and was then arrested and left in a hot police car with the windows up. A lieutenant later ordered his release.
Turner sued the officers for violating his First and Fourth Amendment rights, claiming that he was arrested without probable cause and that the officers interfered with his right to film in a public place. The district court granted the officers qualified immunity on Turner’s First Amendment claim but denied them qualified immunity on his Fourth Amendment claim.
On appeal, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s decision that the officers did not have probable cause to arrest Turner and were not entitled to qualified immunity on his Fourth Amendment claim. The court also clarified that Turner’s filming of the police station was protected under the First Amendment.
However, the court did grant the officers qualified immunity for their initial questioning of Turner, which was deemed potentially necessary for security purposes.
From The Battousai’s channel, here’s the video that started it all:
1st Amendment Audit Fort Worth PD: The Birth of Turner v. Driver.
Listen when the video goes “blank” for a little bit around 6:00. Pay particular attention beginning around the 6:03 mark. We need more judges like this one. You should watch and listen to the video to understand the judge’s decision, especially to learn about dealing with stop-and-frisk in Texas.
