Dec 06

Surviving First Amendment Audits - St. Augustine (Morning Session, 12/6/24)

A half day NEFLIN face-to-face workshop featuring Leith Harrell in St. Augustine, FL.

Southeast Branch | St. Johns County Public Library System
6670 US-1, St. Augustine, FL 32086
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Dec 06, 2024 09:00am - Dec 06, 2024 12:00pm

Free

First Amendment Auditing has grown into a cottage industry that shows no sign of slowing.

First Amendment Audits and Citizen Journalist encounters have been on the rise for a decade. Yet each day, new videos are posted to social media featuring public servants who appear completely unprepared for the encounters. “Failed” audits undermine public trust in our already embattled institutions and can result in increasingly costly civil suits. All public servants must be equipped with the most current knowledge, the requisite communication skills, and the right mental attitude, if we are to expect them to meet this challenge and uphold the public trust.

What do you really need to know?

HOW TO RECOGNIZE AN AUDIT

What do they look like?
Where do they take place?
What are typical Auditor strategies?

CURRENT CASE LAW

Which activities are protected?
When is a camera evidence?
Who may film? Where? When?
What is a “journalist”?

STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

What to say, what not to say.
Avoid traps and pitfalls.
Recognize and deflect Auditors’ attempts to provoke.
How to be better at what you do than they are at what they do.

NOTE: We are offering this session twice in the same day.

Both sessions will be the same. You only need to sign up for one.

Trainer: Leith Harrell

Master Sergeant Leith Harrell (Ret.) served as a Florida peace officer for more than 28 years. His public service career spanned a notable period of American history. He entered the police academy in May 1991, two months after the infamous Rodney King video became public and he took his retirement in November 2020, during the protests that followed the death of George Floyd. He served with the DeLand Police Department for just over 5 years, before joining the Orlando Police Department in 1997.

Leith served as a uniformed first responder for more than 20 years, and as a supervisor for 13 years. He recognized his zeal for training early in his career, when he joined the first cadre of Police Mountain Bike Instructors in Central Florida, in 1995. Since then, he has delivered more than 5,000 hours of training as a certified instructor to basic recruits, in service, and advanced specialized programs. He has spoken at international training conferences and has traveled across the country to the Northeast and Midwest to deliver seminars.

This project was funded either under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act from the Institute of Museum and Library Services or the Library Cooperative Grant program. Florida’s LSTA and LCG programs are administered by the Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services.

For FY2023-24, the total state and federal budgets for NEFLIN's programs are $694,693. 42% of the total costs ($294,693) are supported by federal funds, and 58% of this program ($400,000) is supported by state funds.