CIR Successfully Ends Attack on O’Keefe’s Speech

On March 5, 2013, James O’Keefe reached a settlement in the last of several lawsuits filed against him in the wake of his exposé of ACORN. ACORN employee, Juan Carlos Vera brought a lawsuit against O’Keefe for secretly recording a conversation between the two of them as a part of O’Keefe’s independent journalistic investigation of the organization. As a result of the settlement, O’Keefe paid Vera $100,000 and was released from all liability stemming from the recording and its dissemination.

O’Keefe was sued in three different states for recording conversations with ACORN officials. The suits against him were brought under state laws that make it illegal to record a conversation without the consent of the other party. CIR successfully defended O’Keefe in each of the suits and argued that the laws violated his First Amendment rights.