May 28-30, 2025 | Mohegan Sun
First Amendment Summit 2025
The Role of Law Enforcement in First Amendment Protections
Curriculum
Law enforcement officers play a crucial role in ensuring public safety while respecting constitutional rights, especially those protected by the First Amendment. Understanding these rights is vital for officers to perform their duties lawfully and build public trust.The First Amendment protects freedoms of speech, assembly, press, religion, and petition, often intersecting with law enforcement duties during protests, demonstrations, media interactions, and dissent. Officers must know the legal limits on restricting speech to avoid unlawful detentions, arrests, or force against individuals engaged in protected activities.Misunderstanding First Amendment rights can lead to civil rights violations, legal liability, and damaged public confidence. Over-policing protests, restricting media access, or retaliating against speech can result in lawsuits and undermine the legitimacy of law enforcement.Proper First Amendment training helps officers distinguish between protected speech and unlawful conduct, like incitement to violence or threats. It also aids in managing public interactions, balancing security with civil liberties, and de-escalating tense situations while respecting constitutional freedoms.A law enforcement culture that values constitutional awareness strengthens community relations, upholds democratic principles, and reduces legal risks.
Training Schedule
Ensure your team's success by reviewing the training schedule and signing up for sessions that will enhance your understanding and application of First Amendment rights in law enforcement.
Day #1
08:30 AM: Introduction to the First Amendment
The opening session of the First Amendment Summit, Introduction to the First Amendment, is presented by Attorney Eric Daigle and will cover First Amendment 101 topics. This session will cover topics including First Amendment application to law enforcement and jail operations and the legal implication of policy, training, and operations.
10:30 AM: Employment First Amendment Update
Attorney Eric Atstupenas presents an updated look at employment implications of the First Amendment. This session will cover Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech based claims against law enforcement agencies.
1:15 PM: Crowd Management and Public Disorder – Legal
Attorney Eric Daigle presents legal trends in Crowd Management and Public Disorder. This session will review legal standards for law enforcement protest response including time, place, and manner restrictions. This session also will explore the legal definitions of hate speech, threat assessment, and passive resistance.
3:00 PM: Public Order National Standards
Captain Spencer Fomby presents current industry standards for departments to consider when developing policy, training, or managing a protest event. His knowledge as the National Tactical Officers Association Public Order Section Chair and his experience managing public order at his former agency at Berkeley PD, will provide many topics for you to consider in preparing for and managing public order.
Day #2
8:45 AM: Freedom of Religion – Law Enforcement Operations
Attorney Joseph Race presents on the implications of Freedom of Religion on law enforcement operations. From uniform regulations, to shift scheduling and prisoner processing. You should be asking how does Freedom of Religion affect law enforcement operations? This session will work to answer these questions and take deep dive into freedom of religion to govern policy, training and operations.
10:30 AM: Social Media & First Amendment Implications
Attorney Eric Atstupenas presents on the operational challenges of social media and First Amendment implications. This session covers guidance on investigating and disciplining public employees for social media content. A full presentation of “They posted WHAT?”
1:15 PM: Freedom of the Press – What you need to know…
Attorney Mickey Osterreicher and a panel of experts, including Attorney Eric Daigle and Captain Spencer Fomby, discuss recording police and the First Amendment concerns. This session covers legal standards & interpretations, electronic interception platforms, social media monitoring, and policy & training development.
3:00 PM: First Amendment Issues in Detention and Jail Operations
Attorney Carrie Hill discusses First Amendment implications in detention and jail operations, focusing on religious freedom challenges, prisoner processing, and freedom of speech issues related to mail, phone, visitation, and media. The presentation also covers policy and training recommendations for detention operations.
Day #3
8:00 AM: Police and the Press
This training, led by Attorney Mickey H. Osterreicher, General Counsel, will cover the rights and limitations of journalists and citizens to record law enforcement in public, focusing on First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment issues, search and seizure, qualified immunity, media-crowd management, and the prohibition of destroying or deleting recordings. The session will include discussions of relevant case law, recent rulings, national trends, and provide opportunities for questions and interaction.
9:45 AM: Police Use of Social Media & The Constitution
Attorney Eric Atstupenas will examine operational challenges of police use of social media and the Constitution implications. This session examines police use of social media during investigations and self-surveillance of social media. Attorney Atstupenas will tackle agency policy and procedure operations as well as blocking, hiding, muting, removing, and policing third-party posts on agency social media sites.
11:30 AM: Crowd Management and Public Disorder – Policy
Attorney Daigle’s closing session will focus on policy development related to Crowd Management and Public Disorder. The presentation will focus on operational guidelines, command, and control, responding to public disorder, declaring an unlawful assembly, and use of force standards.
Book Your Stay
Reservations can be made directly by registrants at the following URL: https://book.passkey.com/go/DF0525.Should guests prefer to make their room reservations by phone, they should mention the group code DF0525 when calling the toll-free number 1-888-226-7711.Address: 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd, Uncasville, CT 06382
Meals at the Summit
Each morning on Days 1, 2, and 3, we provide coffee, tea, and other beverages, along with a light continental breakfast (including yogurt, fruit, and similar items). Days 1 and 2 include a full lunch.
About the Summit
Three days of First Amendment education from May 28-30, 2025.
Topics Covered in This Program:
Crowd Management and Protests
Social Media and Free Speech
Recording Police Activities
First Amendment Auditors
Freedom of Religion
First Amendment Retaliation Claims
What You Should Expect:
Three days of intensive presentations from top industry experts.
Daily live keynotes and expert panels on the hottest First Amendment topics.
Nationwide networking to exchange ideas and insights.
Access to sample policies, presentations, videos, and handouts to bring back to your agency.
Register Now
Join Us
Register today and join us at the DLG First Amendment Summit.
Sponsorship
Partnerships
Meet and showcase with decision-makers, command staff, and industry leaders with sponsorship opportunities at the Summit.
Instructors
Attorney Eric P. Daigle
Daigle Law Group
Attorney Eric Daigle specializes in Civil Rights litigation and law enforcement operations consulting. Attorney Daigle also conducts training on use of force standards, including electronic control weapons and responses to force/deadly force incidents. Attorney Daigle acts in his capacity as a Law Enforcement Consultant providing guidance and oversight to department command staff on operations, force response, and risk management. He has served as an expert witness in use of force cases and has reviewed use of force incidents around the Attorney Daigle serves as a member of independent monitoring teams and acts as an auditor in reviewing police department organizational compliance with procedural revisions directed or overseen by the Federal court system.
Attorney Eric R. Atstupenas
Daigle Law Group
Eric Atstupenas presently serves as the General Counsel for the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. He serves as a member at large on the IACP Legal Officers Section board, a member of the IACP Committee on Human and Civil Rights, associate member of the New England Association of Chiefs of Police and Central Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and serves on the Board of Directors for the Municipal Police Institute, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to providing training to law enforcement in Massachusetts. Eric is the author of several law enforcement training materials and has been published in the IACP’s Police Chief magazine. Eric has also worked extensively with Eric Daigle, Esq., the owner of Daigle Law Group, LLC, as a law enforcement consultant and trainer.
Attorney Joseph Race
Daigle Law Group
Joseph Race is an Associate Attorney with the Daigle Law Group and specializes in policy and accreditation issues. Mr. Race recently retired as a Captain of the Madison (CT) Police Department where he commanded the Administrative Division. During his time in Madison, Mr. Race successfully led the Madison Police Department to dual CALEA Accreditation for Law Enforcement and Public Safety Communication as well as State of Connecticut Tier III Accreditation. Mr. Race is actively involved in accreditation and currently serves as a CALEA Assessment Team Leader. Mr. Race is a graduate of the Quinnipiac University School Law and is a practicing member of the Connecticut state bar as well as the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Mr. Race is a graduate of the Southern Police Institutes 76th Command Officers Development Course and the 270th Session of the FBI National Academy. Mr. Race is also proud United States Marine Corps veteran.
Spencer Fomby
Law Enforcement Tactical Consultants
Retired Captain Spencer Fomby is the section chair for the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) Public Order Section and coordinated the creation of the NTOA Public Order Response and Operation Standards, the NTOA Public Order Basic Command Certification Course, and the NTOA Public Order Grenadier course. Spencer is the former director of the Boise Idaho Police Department Training, Education, and Development Division. He was previously employed by the Berkeley Police Department in California for 20 years. He has held primary assignments in patrol, narcotics, and crime prevention. He was assigned to SWAT for 18 years as an entry team member, team leader, and tactical commander. Spencer was the lead Berkeley Police Department public order instructor. He was responsible for equipment selection, tactical training, less-lethal weapon selection, chemical agent selection and deployment, and mission planning.
Attorney Carrie Hill
National Center for Jail Operations
Carrie Hill is an attorney and national criminal justice consultant. She has dedicated her thirty-year career in providing criminal justice consulting and professional development seminars in correctional law to educate and empower those working in the correctional industry. She is the Chief Jail Advisor for the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Executive Director for the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association.
Attorney Mickey H. Osterreicher
National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)
Mickey H. Osterreicher serves as general counsel to the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). He is an award-winning photojournalist with over forty years’ experience in print and broadcast and has been a uniformed reserve deputy sheriff with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) since 1976. Osterreicher was a member of the IACP Public Recording of Police advisory committee and helped draft the manuals and provide training on this issue. He has also instructed at previous Use of Force Summits as well as numerous annual IACP and National Sheriffs Association (NSA) meetings and provided training on this subject to many law enforcement agencies nationwide, including: Washington, D.C., Tampa, Cleveland, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Denver, Milwaukee, Miami and the Minnesota State Patrol. He is also certified under the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) honored him in 2015 as a “Fellow of the Society,” the highest professional honor given by the Society for extraordinary contribution to the profession and in 2021 he was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Reservations can be made directly by registrants at the following URL: https://book.passkey.com/go/DF0525.Should guests prefer to make their room reservations by phone, they should mention the group code DF0525 when calling the toll-free number 1-888-226-7711.Address: 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd, Uncasville, CT 06382Parking OptionsWith more than 13,000 complimentary parking spaces, parking at Mohegan Sun is never a hassle. For additional transportation information, please visit https://meetings.mohegansun.com/getting-here/Address
1 Mohegan Sun Blvd, Uncasville, CT 06382
