Louisiana legislature introduces HB729 which bans publishing booking photos (mugshots)

The Sadvocate: "The Damage that booking photos can do"

State Rep. Royce Duplessis represents House District 93. He lives in New Orleans.

The presumption of innocence is a bedrock principle of our nation’s legal system. That principle is why I filed House Bill 729, which would limit when media outlets can publish booking photos (mugshots) of people who have only been arrested but not yet convicted.

Millions are arrested every year, only to later have their charges dropped or cases dismissed, or be found not guilty. Yet their booking photos, published online or in print, follow them around for years, like a modern-day scarlet letter of criminality.

It is without debate that mugshots are overwhelmingly prejudicial. And while the press might have a First Amendment right to publish the photos, it does not have a First Amendment right to access them.

Fortunately, the tide seems to be turning against these practices. Many media outlets, especially newspapers, have increasingly decided on their own to limit when they publish booking photos, and in many cases have decided to end the practice entirely. And other states have started passing laws to limit their use, including Utah, Florida and Illinois. Now we have an opportunity to do the same here in Louisiana by passing HB 729.