Nevens v. City of Chino

CONLEY, P. J.

Joe Nevens sued for an injunction to prevent the City of Chino and its city council from enforcing a measure adopted on or about July 18, 1961, by which it was provided: “That from and after this date, no tape recorder or mechanical device for the purpose of obtaining tapes or recordings of Council proceedings be permitted in the Council chamber.”

The plaintiff alleged that he is a professional newspaper reporter residing in San Bernardino and that from June, 1960, to February 8, 1961, he was a staff reporter-photographer for “The Daily Report,” a newspaper published at Ontario, California, with the assigned duty, among others, of covering the municipal and community events which occurred in Chino and Montclair; that his employment by that paper ceased on about the latter date, but that he continued to attend the Chino City Council meetings as a “professional free lance reporter and as a private citizen interested in their deliberations.”

The plaintiff further alleged that among the paraphernalia used by him in his profession was a portable tape recorder which operated without noise or interference with the proceedings of the city council; he used the instrument openly in full view of the council and of anyone else in the council chambers. Since the council adopted the measure, plaintiff “has been unable to attend such City Council meetings utilizing his tape recorder. ...” (In this connection, it should be noted that the resolution of the city council did not explicitly provide any penalty for a breach, but it is apparent that the council could exclude from their meetings anyone who did not comply with their requirements.)

The pleading states that the city council does not keep a verbatim record of its proceedings and that the actual minutes are only abbreviated summaries of what takes place and do not show in detail a discussion of the various measures by the members of the city council. The meetings, of course, are public and none of them is a closed or executive session. The plaintiff complains that the rights of freedom of the press and of speech provided by the First Amendment to the "United States Constitution and by article I, section 9 of the Constitution of Califor

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nia have been violated. He states that the use of the tape recording device is an aid as necessary in his work as was his prior use of pen or pencil and paper, and that the action of the Chino City Council improperly prevents the performance of his duties as a free lance reporter. The plaintiff also calls attention to the provisions of the Ealph M. Brown Act (Gov. Code, §§ 54950-54958), which require public hearings by city councils and other similar governmental bodies within the state, and which include in their enactment the following language: