On January 16th, 2025, the Leon County Sheriff’s office notified the public that booking reports will no longer be available on their official website or social media. LCSO stated that mugshots will still be in their news releases and that a public records request can still be used to obtain mugshots.
In addition, LCSO noted that “The Leon County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to transparency while protecting the constitutional rights of all individuals in our community.”
The decision is based on a recent federal court ruling.
On September 5th, 2024, The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on Houston v. Maricopa County of Arizona, stating that it is not “constitutionally permissible” to have a policy of posting mugshots of arrestees who have not been convicted of a crime, and that it violates their due process rights.
In 2022, Brian Houston was arrested in Phoenix on the charge of assault. As is standard in the Maricopa County’s jail booking process, Houston’s mugshot was taken and posted online and was publicly accessible alongside his full name, birthdate, and alleged crime. Houston was not prosecuted for these charges and they were dropped.
In May 2022, Houston filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the public release of this information violated his due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment and that it caused him “intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress”.
The Court of Appeals decreed that the state does not have the right to punish arrestees pretrial without a judgement of guilt.
“Nowhere does the County explain how posting specific, highly personal information about individual arrestees online — including, here, Houston’s image, birthdate, full name, appearance details, and charges — furthers any transparency interest,” Judge Marsha Berzon wrote.
Some First Amendment experts disagreed with the ruling.
Mugshots are “basic arrest information” and public records that have historically been available, said Brendan Healey, a Chicago-based media lawyer. The public has a right to know who is being arrested and why, he said.
Most people know a mugshot is not a determination of guilt, he added.
Denver First Amendment attorney Steven Zansberg said mugshot access varies by state, but most states consider them public.
He thinks they should be available. When people are deprived of their liberty, the public and press should be able to keep tabs on the actions of law enforcement, he said.
LCSO Ends Booking Report Releases added by Staff on
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Ugh. You really need to address your comments formatting, TR, get rid of the run-on paragraphs.
« Mugshots are “basic arrest information” and public records that have historically been available, said Brendan Healey, a Chicago-based media lawyer. »
“Historically been available:” logical fallacy of appeal to tradition/common or past practice/antiquity; ‘argumentum ad antiquitatem.’
« The public has a right to know who is being arrested and why, he said. »
The public has a right to know who’s been convicted; it doesn’t take anything to arrest someone on anything, particularly with qualified immunity, and SCOTUS ruling that cops don’t have to know the law, just a ‘sincere belief’ in what it is. You’ve heard the phrase about indicting a ham sandwich, yes? Making simple arrests available is guilt by association. They now need to get rid of RAP sheets — Record of Arrest and[/or] Prosecution — and have only ROC sheets — Record Of Conviction.
« Most people know a mugshot is not a determination of guilt, he added. »
If by “mugshot” you mean “arrest,” then no; no they don’t. The most common question regarding someone’s arrest is, “What’d you do?” Whether creating or compounding the perception is ‘Hollywood’ where all shows or movies are about cops and prosecutors, never defense, and the person arrested (with rare and probably famous exception from real life) is always the one arrested, tried, and proven guilty. Hell, judges and lawyers don’t even look at the dispensation of cases, only as far as what someone’s charges are, because any ‘not guilty’ or dropped charges are simply dismissed as ‘he got away with it,’ there was some technicality, or lack of evidence, never that said lack is because someone’s not guilty, just that he’s guilty but there’s insufficient evidence.
Melissa, I have been going through the same for many,many years now in all different areas and states. It is definitely worse in Florida which is why they want it to stay the same with coax cables that people can access and manipulate.
The box outside my apartment building it’s all broken and torn up. It seems that most city employees are in on these scams which is why they are so far behind with technology here. Makes it much easier to steal and scam.
People in charge must be guilty of something if they aren’t concerned about these obvious security issues.
And the lawn people! Yes! I thought I was the only one noticing it’s them..it’s many unfortunately but nobody bothers to try to do anything about it. I mean, who would think that it is even legal to post pics of people that are not even proven of committing a crime in this day and age? Are we living in the stone age?
So if publishing someone’s mugshot before they have been convicted has been deemed unconstitutional how is pretrial any different. You are essentially being charged with the crime, made to report in, and jump through other various hoops. All for a crime that you’ve not yet been convicted of.
It has a positive spin on it, but tallahassee is violating peoples right to speedy trial. People are sitting in there forever with no representation. Imagine getting stuck in jail and nobody knows. Youre just screwed. Leon county jail is violating people religious right with regard to food. Sometimes letting inmates go weeks without clean laundry. Lcso/ leon county jail, the public is onto you. You guy will be getting what you dish out before too long. Happy day!
Frank, same here. Checking the photos was part of my morning routine. I wonder how many FOIA requests I’d have to make before they’d start emailing me the BR?
I think by law that this is the best thing to do to not violate anyone 14 ammendments. These people are not guilty ,so how about paying everyone who is being violated, when all their charges are dropped. And let the taxpayers pay for it .Scene they want tea
what about posting after conviction
Not sure of Leon County’s reasoning stated about court decision.I tend to think maybe they got wind of there being at least 3 LCSO Facebook meta websites with daily booking reports which put peoples pic ( or likeness,edited) and crime alleged. Almost always using fake name. But are they fake? Seems the public does not know. Seems every single news report about a particular person including YouTube post same story same name as person on booking report but you may know them under different name.So when you have someone hacking your phone and the whole internet where you live and that means phone tv computer and it never will update even when you call your carrier and they tell you to call manufacturer and get nowhere bc you realize after about a year you are talking to an internet cafe nextdoor always Even on 911. You get criminals in uniform and real politicians and public figures down here destroying lives and want it covered up bc they pd off the clerks office employees or judge or strongarmed them, then bc of this it becomes against their rights and an issue that’s the problem. Paid for by thee elite. Meanwhile in Tallahassee as T-pain said, if you are so lucky as to have Meta ” THUG” Facebook through browser, you get served up your daily dose of torture and humiliation, by placeing your deceased family members photos with different names all over Florida booking reports or their likeness.And you get over the air programmed propaganda that every day fits the method of control they plan to use. Or like at this very moment after taking your phone number completely by spending all the money left in your bank account about 200.00 when you go to pay bill online last night you have no money to pay bill and hacker has pin and all they need to take your account completely so you have wifi that you are posting this comment with and all the lawn crew comes to stand outside to hack and keep you from posting or put their email and name on your comment. That’s the way it is when you live in Hackerville USA, south side Tallahassee Lake Bradford Mobile Park, where fugatives criminals and sex offenders run the show. Melissa A McKnight Lot 224
“posting mugshots of arrestees who have not been convicted of a crime, and that it violates their due process rights. ” ………………….. OK, I get it. How about doing it POST Conviction and tell everyone the outcome, all the Charges received and found Guilty on and how much Time they were given. Don’t forget the Mug Shot……….
Why is a Florida Sheriff’s Office following the decree of the San Francisco based 9th Circuit? Are other Florida agencies other than LCSO making this policy?
Dang, I always wanted to see if anybody I knew/knew of was there.