Judge blocks enforcement of Louisiana’s 25-foot buffer zone for police

by Charles Maldonado, Louisiana Illuminator
January 31, 2025

NEW ORLEANS – A federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of a state law, approved last year, that creates a buffer zone around police, making it a criminal offense to come within 25 feet of a working officer after being ordered to step back.

The preliminary injunction was issued Friday in response to a lawsuit filed in July by six media companies, including Verite News’ parent company Deep South Today, asking for the law to be blocked.

The media groups — represented by the Washington-based Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Louisiana attorneys Scott Sternberg and Marcia Suzanne Montero — say the law could interfere with journalists’ First Amendment rights to cover police actions and expose police misconduct. They also argue the law is unconstitutionally vague, allowing police to invoke the buffer arbitrarily.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who is a defendant in the suit, contends that the law is a common-sense public safety measure that will protect police officers while they are on the job. In a December court hearing, attorneys representing Murrill also argued that the media groups’ suit is based on purely hypothetical grounds, as the law has yet to be enforced since it took effect in August.

But in his ruling, Judge John deGravelles of Louisiana’s Middle District, said the threat to newsgathering warrants immediate action.

“Plaintiffs’ journalists are regularly within 25 feet of peace officers, and now face the threat of arrest and prosecution if an order to retreat is given,” deGravelles wrote. “The distance required is likely to impede Plaintiffs’ non-obstructive newsgathering. … Therefore, the Act has a chilling effect on Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights,” even if it has not yet been enforced.”

DeGravelles, a federal court appointee of former President Barack Obama, also agreed with the plaintiffs that the law is overly vague.

“Here, while the Act clearly states that an officer can enforce a 25-foot buffer zone, it lacks any standard by which an officer may issue an order to stand back or retreat,” the judge wrote.

Louisiana is one of several states that have passed police buffer zone laws. Similar laws in Arizona and Indiana have faced legal challenges on constitutional grounds. The Arizona law was struck down in 2022. The Indiana law has faced two separate challenges. In one case, the law was upheld. In another, it was struck down.

The  preliminary injunction will be effective while the case is pending. The plaintiffs’ ultimate goal is a permanent block on the law.

In a statement, Murrill said she had not seen the ruling yet but would “continue to defend the law.”

“We think it is a reasonable time, place and manner restriction from obstructing and interfering with working police,” Murrill said. “We are trying to protect the public. This is a reasonable law.”

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