The idea of using felony conspiracy charges rankled some in the celebrity photography business. Frank Griffin, co-founder with Randy Bauer, of L.A.-based Bauer-Griffin, one of the leading American paparazzi agencies, said the possibility was outlandish.
"There has to be some criminal offense committed before you can be looked at for a charge of conspiracy," Griffin said. "If we sit around in a circle and conspire to commit a road accident with a celebrity -- it just doesn't happen.
"I've been doing this for more than half my life, and it saddens me to see this," Griffin said.
His agency, he added, offers clear guidance to photographers on assignment. He said they are told that if they encounter law enforcement officials, they are to identify themselves, say who they work for and be polite. If mediation is required, he said, they are to call Griffin or Bauer.
Griffin said he also gives "strict instructions" to his photographers that if they become "part of the story, then it is no longer a story."
The new effort to crack down, however, has won support from others who believe the photographers hound celebrities.
Lohan's attorney, Jay Lavely, said he believed everyone should be entitled to "a minimal zone of privacy."
He said incidents he had been told about included breaking and entering, trespassing, gaining entry under false pretenses and impersonation. But Lavely declined to discuss specific incidents involving his clients, who include noted singers and actors.
Stanley Goldman, a professor at Loyola Law School, said the potential use of felony conspiracy charges against paparazzi would be unusual. Conspiracy charges have been used recently in cases against alleged terrorists. The charge gained notoriety previously as a tool against mobsters and street gangs.
Goldman said there were obvious prosecutorial advantages if conspiracy charges could be used successfully.
"You can use hearsay. You can use the statements of alleged co-conspirators," said Goldman, a former L.A. County public defender who teaches criminal procedure. "It also allows lots of theories to be admitted. And then, of course, if convicted, you end up with vastly more potential charges to be guilty of."
But Goldman and others in the legal community said they were concerned about the implications.
