People who are arrested and charged with a crime must go
through a long process that begins from the moment the person is suspected of
committing a crime. This process is the same whether the person is guilty or innocent.
The criminal justice system and the courts have slowly built
this process over many decades to reach what exists today. The process of being
arrested, posting bail, going to trial, and then potentially being punished for
a crime can be confusing and stressful. One part of the process that few people
enjoy is getting a mugshot.
Mugshots were first used in the mid 19th century. Mugshots
are officially taken photographs of people arrested for a crime. The image
usually contains the name of the person, a reservation number and a simple
background that does not interfere with the person. The first mugshots were
used for two reasons. The first is so that prison officials can know and
positively identify the prisoners. The second was for the police, lawyers and
other investigators to show it to witnesses for identification purposes so that
the accused could remain in jail. A later and still current use of mugshots is
to show the public when a person escapes from jail or commits another crime
later.
There is little controversy regarding mugshots, especially
in the criminal justice community and among lawyers defending the rights of
people convicted of a crime. The reality is that remove mugshot from google is rarely
flattering to the accused. Some mug shots are taken while the individual is
disheveled, injured, or intoxicated. Showing this mugshot to jurors, witnesses,
and even other attorneys could influence opinions unfairly. This is why some
people advocate trying to do everything possible, like smiling and cleaning
before remove mugshot online, to look
more like a normal individual rather than a crazed criminal.
Should You
Pay to Erase Your Mug Shot from the Internet?
Since it is possible to remove
mugshot, the next question is whether or not you have to pay to do so.
Turns out that depends on who you ask and which sites you use for removal. Some
will do what they advertise; others will not. "For the most part,
third-party sites are a waste," says criminal defense attorney Jordan
Ostroff. "They will send letters to the other sites and maybe follow up
here or there, but it really [depends on] the main sites that post the images
to do something about it or not."
Ostroff believes that the most reliable way to remove arrest record of him is to pay a
fee to the real site rather than using a third-party service. "The way for
that [mugshot website] to make money is to accept payment and remove the photo,
while third-party companies just have to [make] one good [try] for you,"
he notes.
What if the
case is sealed?
If the case was sealed or deleted, you may be able to delete
the image free of charge from mugshot
removal sites. New York criminal attorney Todd Spodek says: “[In New York]
if you have a court order sealing the file, including mugshots, and submitting
it on the actual website, they will have to remove it or face legal
repercussions. The case sealed or expunged, it is difficult for anyone to
follow up and confirm the arrest. "
The bottom
line
Most experts use terms like "extortion" to
describe these sites, but the practice is not illegal in many states.
Everything that is published on the Internet is available somewhere. It becomes
a matter of personal choice if you want to pay a fee to have a mugshot removed
from the internet. But paying to remove what is clearly visible will probably
work.
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