"Carlos Miller and his blog Photography Is Not A Crime has to be the best blog I have come across to date that documents the ongoing battle that photographers and videographers are facing in increasing numbers."Hodson Report
"Anyone who promises to 'mock, madden and maybe even muckrake' has my attention - especially when he's fighting for my right to plant my sticks wherever the Constitution says I can."Lenslinger
"With a seemingly increasing number of stories of police harassing and arresting photographers making headlines, one man has made it his job to watch the police."B-roll
"This is not a partisan issue. It's a police abuse-of-power issue, and 'security' is no excuse for this sort of totally unacceptable and unconstitutional behavior by officers of the law. Carlos Miller is a great source of information about these unfolding stories."Brendan Loy
I have a bunch of RSS feeds on my smartphone, and I tell ya, this is one i read constantly. Great info, and it is unbelievable what is going on right here in the USA.... Virginia Beach Photo Club
“Photography is not a Crime” is informative, well written and takes no prisoners. The Photojournalist
"If you read enough of his site, you start to understand that Miller has a bit of an ability to instigate. I don't blame him for this. I think that in order for society to progress, authority must continually be challenged. [Post] Modern College Life
The Bad
"This Carlos Miller character is just a jerk, no redeeming social or personal value."Conservative Cave
"You're a good writer, Carlos, but until you're able to recognize and acknowledge your biases, your quests for justice will be seen by most as little more than sour grapes by a man with a chip on his shoulder."South Florida Daily Blog
The Ugly
"You are a cockroach and boil on the ass of journalism in Miami and the sooner that responsible journalists in Miami disown you and repudiate your actions the better.""Hank"
"Your arrogant, crass, thug-like behavior crops up at every turn. One only need to read your blog to see that.
You can’t seem to cover anything without getting into a potentially violent confrontation.""Hank"
Recognition
The South Florida Daily Blog Post of the Month February 2008The South Florida Daily Blog Post of the Month June 2008The South Florida Daily Blog Post of the Month November 2008Some Cranky Guy
Uber Amazing BlogNovember 23rd, 2008
By Carlos Miller
I was 11 years old when the Mariel boatlift changed the face of Miami forever.
Next week will mark the 29th anniversary of the boatlift that brought more than 125,000 Cubans to Miami during a five-month span. How times flies.
It wasn’t easy. It was a cultural shock for all of us. But we got through it.
Today, Miami Beach 411 published a piece I wrote about the boatlift. It’s recommended reading if you want to know the story of Mariel beyond the movie Scarface.
Recollections of Florida beaches,
Strewn with human cargo.
The wreckage and flotsam,
The derivatives of ancient
Haitian teak, and Cuban dreams of
Liberty and Freedom.
The exodus of one way packet fleets,
Sailing for elusive dreams,
Fifty people in a thirty foot vessel.
The risk is worth the wrath
Of the Sargasso Sea.
How can I convey the loss and human toll?
What can one say, when you see them sink and drown
Just fifteen yards shy of freedom’s caress?
Gray bearded rats, and demented, dictatorial doctors
Pushed them onto their homeland shores,
Pitching them into the sea.
A Haitian and Cuban cemetery…
Lost futures and wasted dreams
At the hand of Power’s
Hierarchy.
These waters and reflections
Have become a part of me.
I used to love the Ocean,
In my youth it was my calling.
The only call that I hear now
Are the screams of the drowning and dying.
And to what ends I ask?
And to what ends I ask?
So much for the poor and down trodden,
But this is one who has never forgotten.
The scars of memory
Shall remain,
And I shall never forget.
The good thing is, I am facing a new judge, not my old nemesis who did not appreciate me blogging about my first trial. He paid for that. 18 minutes ago
My question is: How can one be charged with resisting arrest if there is no underlying charge to base the arrest on? We'll soon find out. 22 minutes ago
I have a trial coming up on Tuesday. I am being charged with resisting arrest when all I did was photograph a cop. Let justice prevail. 28 minutes ago
@igz Thanks for the tip. I just posted it on my blog. 30 minutes ago
My name is Carlos Miller and I am a multimedia journalist who was arrested by Miami police after taking photos of them against their wishes, a clear violation of my First Amendment rights.
Since that arrest on Feb. 20th, 2007, I've fought a lengthy battle against the State of Florida to prove my innocence. After going to trial in June 2008, I was acquitted of all charges except resisting arrest without violence. I appealed that conviction pro se, meaning I represented myself, and I won a reversal.
However, I am now fighting another arrest for photographing cops against their wishes. On Memorial Day Weekend 2008, I was arrested on Miami Beach on a single charge of resisting arrest without violence after I photographed a couple of cops against their wishes.
Click here to read more.
Their side of story
Police “escorted defendant to the middle of the street and told him to cross to the sidewalk. Defendant for the fourth time refused the verbal commands and that’s why he was arrested.” Read arrest report.
A legal view
The general rule in the United States is that anyone may take photographs of whatever they want when they are in a public place or places where they have permission to take photographs. Absent a specific legal prohibition such as a statute or ordinance, you are legally entitled to take photographs. Examples of places that are traditionally considered public are streets, sidewalks, and public parks.(more).
SPJ’s protest letter
National leaders of the largest journalism organization in the United States have expressed their disappointment in Miami-Dade County Court Judge Jose L. Fernandez for violating my First Amendment rights.
Fernandez, as I mentioned in a previous post, gave me an extremely harsh sentence and criticized me for having blogged about my case.
Read the press release from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Sarcasm Disclaimer
I am a very sarcastic person in person. And I am probably even more sarcastic in my writing.
But if you’ve never met me, you might not see that sarcasm. After all, sarcasm depends on tone and delivery for pure effectiveness, something that is hard to do with the written word.
So if you are ever offended by something I write, whether you are a conservative, liberal, Catholic, Jew, atheist, American, foreigner, black, white, southerner, yankee, homosexual, straight or whatever, chances are, I am just being sarcastic.
Truth is, I am not a hater. I don’t even hate cops. I just want them to abide by the law.
Support the blog
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Fernandez, as I mentioned in a 
Thanks for sharing this.
thanks bro, people need to be reminded every so often of the tragedy that is cuban-power.
I get your passion.
Great piece Carlos. Happy Easter to you and your readers!
Mariel Reflections
Recollections of Florida beaches,
Strewn with human cargo.
The wreckage and flotsam,
The derivatives of ancient
Haitian teak, and Cuban dreams of
Liberty and Freedom.
The exodus of one way packet fleets,
Sailing for elusive dreams,
Fifty people in a thirty foot vessel.
The risk is worth the wrath
Of the Sargasso Sea.
How can I convey the loss and human toll?
What can one say, when you see them sink and drown
Just fifteen yards shy of freedom’s caress?
Gray bearded rats, and demented, dictatorial doctors
Pushed them onto their homeland shores,
Pitching them into the sea.
A Haitian and Cuban cemetery…
Lost futures and wasted dreams
At the hand of Power’s
Hierarchy.
These waters and reflections
Have become a part of me.
I used to love the Ocean,
In my youth it was my calling.
The only call that I hear now
Are the screams of the drowning and dying.
And to what ends I ask?
And to what ends I ask?
So much for the poor and down trodden,
But this is one who has never forgotten.
The scars of memory
Shall remain,
And I shall never forget.