Seventh Circuit Blocks Indiana Police ‘Buffer Law’

In Indiana, a "buffer" law makes it illegal to approach within 25 feet of a police officer who has ordered you to stop approaching. District court: preliminarily enjoined as vague. Seventh Circuit: Totally agree. The law gives officers unfettered discretion to arbitrarily issue do-not-approach orders and then start making arrests. "The Fourteenth Amendment will not tolerate a law subjecting pedestrians to arrest merely because a police officer had a bad breakfast—no matter how bitter the coffee or how soggy the scrambled eggs."

The case is Reporters Cmte. for Freedom of the Press v. Rokita, No. 24-02927 (7th Cir. Aug. 5, 2025).