Feds tell Supreme Court that mug shots should stay secret

The Justice Department won’t budge from its position that federal mug shots of criminals should be kept secret, arguing in a U.S. Supreme Court brief that jailhouse photos are “embarrassing, nonpublic” moments that add to defendants’ grief. Full Article

Related posts

Subscribe
Notify of

We welcome a lively discussion with all view points - keeping in mind...

 

  1. Your submission will be reviewed by one of our volunteer moderators. Moderating decisions may be subjective.
  2. Please keep the tone of your comment civil and courteous. This is a public forum.
  3. Swear words should be starred out such as f*k and s*t and a**
  4. Please avoid the use of derogatory labels.  Use person-first language.
  5. Please stay on topic - both in terms of the organization in general and this post in particular.
  6. Please refrain from general political statements in (dis)favor of one of the major parties or their representatives.
  7. Please take personal conversations off this forum.
  8. We will not publish any comments advocating for violent or any illegal action.
  9. We cannot connect participants privately - feel free to leave your contact info here. You may want to create a new / free, readily available email address that are not personally identifiable.
  10. Please refrain from copying and pasting repetitive and lengthy amounts of text.
  11. Please do not post in all Caps.
  12. If you wish to link to a serious and relevant media article, legitimate advocacy group or other pertinent web site / document, please provide the full link. No abbreviated / obfuscated links. Posts that include a URL may take considerably longer to be approved.
  13. We suggest to compose lengthy comments in a desktop text editor and copy and paste them into the comment form
  14. We will not publish any posts containing any names not mentioned in the original article.
  15. Please choose a short user name that does not contain links to other web sites or identify real people.  Do not use your real name.
  16. Please do not solicit funds
  17. No discussions about weapons
  18. If you use any abbreviation such as Failure To Register (FTR), Person Forced to Register (PFR) or any others, the first time you use it in a thread, please expand it for new people to better understand.
  19. All commenters are required to provide a real email address where we can contact them.  It will not be displayed on the site.
  20. Please send any input regarding moderation or other website issues via email to moderator [at] all4consolaws [dot] org
  21. We no longer post articles about arrests or accusations, only selected convictions. If your comment contains a link to an arrest or accusation article we will not approve your comment.
  22. If addressing another commenter, please address them by exactly their full display name, do not modify their name. 
ACSOL, including but not limited to its board members and agents, does not provide legal advice on this website.  In addition, ACSOL warns that those who provide comments on this website may or may not be legal professionals on whose advice one can reasonably rely.  
 

20 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

And what do registration photos, address information, and other personal details on Megan’s law do? Oh that’s right, the same thing….good job federal government!

Great argument…the fed’s arguments should be used in a lawsuit back against them for using the same such photos published on their sex offender registry.

Quotes from the article:

In July, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals found the promotion of mug shots on the internet and social media have made booking photos more “embarrassing and humiliating” than before.

The Justice Department, in its latest response, played to the demeaning nature of the photos.

“The adage that one picture is worth a thousand words is apt in this context,” the response said. “The visual depiction of the individual’s appearance at booking in a law-enforcement facility reflects a uniquely powerful and lasting image of what can be one of the most difficult episodes in an individual’s life.”

Really? It seems as though registrants aren’t on the same level as any other convict then. This totally contradicts what the SCOTUS said about mug shots or any pictures taken in any LE facility due to any infraction.

Bill of Attainder, please. Also, maybe a discrimination law suit for the mistreatment of US citizens.

Good, because i just received word that I am the subject of malicious attempts to get an FBI investigation on me by mugshot extortionist Charles Rodrick of SexOffenderRecord.com, Offendex.com, OffendexData.com, CourtKey.com, BarComplaints.com. Just because i helped expose him and recently his lawsuit against me was dismissed, he feels the need to continue to harm and harass me.

My life was someone okay until he started doing what he did to me. The mugshot websites have really only hurt themselves and feel they have a right to republish the information.

That’s okay, because the idiot along with his business partner in crime Brent Oesterblad are making attempts to intimidate and go after one of the FBI agents that has been investigating him. Soon, this mugshot extortion business of theirs will be OVER. Sadly, i don’t know about the other mugshot businesses, but i’m working on it.

My team is launching a new website in the coming weeks over at http://www.mugshotextortion.com. We will be addressing this topic head-on.

Could this be a first step toward finally taking down mugshot sites and Sorarchives?

Isn’t it amazing how important it is to avoid “shaming” the police officers by having their images on the Internet for all to see? I guess it only matters when it’s someone the State likes.

That said, yea for the Sessions DoJ on this one! He may be shooting himself in his jackboot on this one.

–AJ

“The visual depiction of the individual’s appearance at booking in a law-enforcement facility reflects a uniquely powerful and lasting image of what can be one of the most difficult episodes in an individual’s life.”

Yet, we have to endure this open-ended harassment with a NEW photo taken every 6 months !!! Hello?

24/7 – 365 !!! Everyday is Groundhog Day us!

But… but, but they’re (wait for it) “THEY’RE SEX OFFENDERS!!! THEY SHOULD BE GLAD WE LET THEM LIVE!” *death glare*

So it follows that the DOJ will support legislation that removes all mugshots from the Internet & makes it illegal to post such images, is that right??
Oh, my apologies – I’m asking for consistency in the law, arent I? 😠

The 6th Circuit opinion, et al, should be used to keep photos from being published on the CA public tiered registry as the bill is still pliable to be molded. Great time to use this info in the discussion with elected officials. The court’s logic is great to use in addition to potential lawsuit material.