ETS Pictures

9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules in Terry Bressi case

In December of 2002, Arizona resident Terry Bressi came upon a police checkpoint on a state highway running through the Tohono O'odham reservation outside of Tucson, AZ.  Bressi's car was stopped by Tohono O'odham tribal officers, who demanded that Bressi produce his driver's license.

Bressi refused to produce the document, and maintained that the checkpoint was illegal.  Bressi was arrested and detained for several hours.  The arrest, as well as subsequent events, led him file a civil rights suit against the officers.

After his lawsuit was dismissed by a lower court, Bressi sought review by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.  The appeals court held that Bressi's claims had merit, in part.  They remanded his case back to district court for rehearing.

We feature an interview with Terry Bressi about this case on our YouTube channel.

Bruce Schneier interview

ETS Pictures recently compiled a highlight reel of material from a 2008 interview with security expert Bruce Schneier.  The video can be found on our YouTube channel.

In the video, Schneier discusses security and privacy issues stemming from the use of ID-card related security measures.  The interview was conducted prior to the introduction of the current PASS ID legislation in Congress, but it touches on related topics, including the REAL ID system that PASS ID seeks to replace.

Documentary updates

Myers Communications has just finished post-production on the Minnesota choral documentary "Never Stop Singing" which will be broadcast on PBS affiliate TPT in June.  ETS Pictures provided cinematography services for the show.

ETS Pictures is currently lensing "The Mississippi:  Troubled Waters" for Bell Museum Productions/TPT.  

MPR coverage of forensics documentary

Minnesota Pubilc Radio recently ran a profile of Susan Marks and John Dehn, the producers of the police forensics documentary "Our Wildest Dreams."  ETS Pictures provided cinematography services for the production.

Find the profile at MPR's Movie Natters blog.

Al-Marri case moved to civilian court

The U.S. government has removed Ali al-Marri from military custody, and has transfered him to the civilian court system, where he has been indicted for providing material support to Al-Queada.  Al-Marri is the last known individual held within the United States as an "enemy combatant."  The indictment will likely head off Supreme Court review of the issues surrounding al-Marri's military detention.  

Supreme Court grants review of enemy combatant case

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case of Ali Saleh al-Marri, a non-US national detained in the United States since 2003 as an enemy combatant. SCOTUSblog has the news. ETS Pictures included a segment on the legal issues involved in enemy combatant cases in the 2004 documentary "Security and the Constitution."

Fresh Filmmaker Grant Winner

Twin Cities filmmaker Emily Haddad recently became the first recipient of the Fresh Filmmakers Grant, funded by ETS Pictures and admistered by IFP Minnesota.  Emily has started a blog to track the progress of her production.  It can be found here.

Wiretapping memos sought

The Associated Press is carrying a story about Judge Henry Kennedy, Jr's order to the Justice Department to produce memos that formed the legal basis for the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP). Read the story here.

Regional Emmy Award for Minnesota Minute

On October 25th, the "Minnesota Minute" commercial campaign won an Upper Midwest Regional Emmy Award in the Pubilc/Current/Community Affairs category. ETS Pictures provided cinematography and editorial services for the spot campaign.

Settlement in post-Katrina gun lawsuit

The city of New Orleans has settled a suit brought by the NRA and the Second Amendment Foundation related to the seizure of firearms during Hurricane Katrina. In the days following the 2005 hurricane, local law enforcement officers seized several hundred privately held firearms from New Orleans residents. According to the Associated Press, the settlement of the case rests on the city implementing a plan to return seized weapons, and abiding by an injunction that prohibits the city from engaging in future weapons seizures from law-abiding residents.