Publication Date
2013
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Many companies profit from the dissemination of mugshot photos, whether online or in print. This new type of business arouses strong feelings , with critics charging that it amounts to a form of blackmail, while the mugshot companies contend that they provide a beneficial public service protected by freedom of speech. In this article, I begin the process of exploring the difficult legal questions surrounding mugshot businesses. In my view, people targeted by businesses like BlabberMouth have a viable theory under which to seek legal relief, but a line must be carefully drawn between businesses that merely profit by reproducing mugshot photos and those that take the further step of agreeing not to publicize a mugshot or other arrest information in exchange for payment of a fee.
Publication Title
Washington University Law Review
Volume
90
Issue
4
Recommended Citation
Allen K. Rostron,
The Mugshot Industry: Freedom of Speech, Rights of Publicity, and the Controversy Sparked by an Unusual New Type of Business,
90
Washington University Law Review
1321
(2013).
Available at:
https://irlaw.umkc.edu/faculty_works/675
