Attacking access problems  Regardless of whether news occurs on
public or private property, if you ignore police orders
regarding access you risk arrest and prosecution. Case law makes
clear that police can limit media access when they believe such
restrictions are needed for public safety or to prevent
interference with an investigation, and that the First Amendment
does not provide immunity from criminal sanctions for disobeying
police orders.  However, courts often acknowledge after the fact
that a reporter or photographer should have been granted access
to a particular scene. An Associated Press photographer who was
charged with interfering with the arrest of a homeless man saw
the charges dismissed when the judge ruled that the photographer
had a legitimate purpose in photographing the arrest. The
photographer, Charles Palla Jr., later sued the police and city
for violating his civil rights by arresting him. In 1996, a jury
awarded him more than $100,000 in damages, finding that the
police had arrested h