The case against photographer Paul Raef, who was the first person prosecuted under a new Californian law targeted at overly zealous paparazzi, has been thrown out of court this week, with the judge labelling the new law “problematic” and “overly inclusive”.
Justin Bieber
In 2010, a new law was introduced in California, criminalising dangerous driving when taking photos commercially.
However, the law had not been tested until July this year, when Paul Raef, 30, was charged with two counts of violating the new law, following an incident on July 6th involving teen pop idol, Justin Bieber.
All up, the City Attorney’s office filed four misdemeanour charges against Raef at the time, including reckless driving with the intent to capture pictures for commercial gain, following another vehicle too closely, reckless driving and failure to obey a peace officer.
However, the first two counts were dismissed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas Robinson on Wednesday who, according to Reuters, called the state’s anti-paparazzi law “problematic” and “overly inclusive.”
He made reference to law’s vague definition of commercial photography, which could inadvertently increase penalties for reckless driving, such as in the case of a photographer who was simply speeding to reach an arranged photo shoot with Bieber, meaning that they could potentially be charged with additional misdemeanours simply because of their profession.
For his part, Justin Bieber received a speeding ticket on the day in question when he was pulled over by police for driving 80 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone.
Telling officers at the time that he was being hounded by paparazzi, he called the police about 30 minutes later when Raef continued to follow him.
Paul Raef will be tried on the two remaining charges of reckless driving and failure to obey a peace officer at a later date and still faces the potential of six months in county jail.
