Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
DRAPER — The case against a Salt Lake woman believed to be the first person charged under the state's "ag-gag" law was dismissed Tuesday.
Amy Meyer, 25, was charged with agricultural operation interference, a class B misdemeanor, in Draper Justice Court on Feb. 19. The charges stem from an incident on Feb. 8 when Meyer went to see the operations of Dale T. Smith and Sons Meat Packing Company in Draper, Meyer's attorney, Stewart Gollan, said.
Gollan said Meyer, who is interested in animal food production and treatment, had heard from others that the company's operations were easily viewed from the public roadway. On Feb. 8, she went to witness operations for herself and filmed what she saw.
Related:
'Ag-gag' bill expected to run into constitutional problems
Making videos of animal abuse on private farm property without permission will soon carry criminal penalties in Utah.She was approached by someone from the company who informed her that she was not allowed to film, according to Gollan, but Meyer responded that she was not on private, but public property.
HB187, which was signed into law in 2012, makes it a class B misdemeanor to trespass onto private livestock or poultry operations and record sound or images without the owner's permission. It also prohibits seeking employment with the intent of making those recordings. Leaving a recording device for that purpose would be a class A misdemeanor.
Legislative debate about the law last year centered on unauthorized filming of agricultural operations by whistleblowers seeking to expose animal abuse, although no instances of such surreptitious filming had been known to occur in Utah.
She was very clearly aware of what the law prohibited and what it didn't and felt her conduct didn't run afoul of the law. She was standing in a public space.
–Stewart Gollan, attorney
"She was very clearly aware of what the law prohibited and what it didn't and felt her conduct didn't run afoul of the law," Gollan said of his client. "She was standing in a public space."
Gollan said he was unaware of anyone facing charges under the law before Meyer. Utah State Courts spokeswoman Nancy Volmer confirmed Tuesday that Meyer was the first person to be prosecuted under the law.
Gollan reiterated that Meyer has long held that she never left the public right of way. Still, there was a dispute between Meyer and the meat packing employee over whether she had entered the property and Draper police were called. She was questioned, but released.
She was eventually charged with the single misdemeanor count, but court records show that prosecutors filed a motion asking that the case be dismissed Tuesday. The dismissal was granted by Judge Daniel Bertch.
Gollan said he had been working with prosecutors to resolve the case and had presented additional evidence that supported his client's story. He said prosecutors dismissed the case for evidentiary reasons.
"Based on what was presented in their motion, they had concerns about the sufficiency of the evidence going forward," Gollan said.
