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The state House narrowly defeated on Monday a bill that would have made booking photos, commonly known as mugshots, confidential until after a defendant has been convicted of a crime or in certain other circumstances.
House Bill 1296 was defeated with 45 votes in favor and 49 against. It would have required at least 48 yes votes to pass the house and move on to the state Senate for consideration.
Booking photos are currently open record in North Dakota and are often released by law enforcement agencies. They are routinely used by newspapers and television stations in news reporting. Media representatives, including the North Dakota Newspaper Association, had testified against the bill at a committee hearing.
On Monday, Rep. Bill Devlin, R-Finley, a former newspaper publisher, spoke to the full House in opposition of the bill and pointed out that publication of the mugshots can help people in the community identify the perpetrators of other crimes. Rep. Pat Heinert, R-Bismarck, a retired sheriff, also spoke in opposition to the bill. He noted that people in a community might share the same name and publishing mugshots can help identify the person who has been charged with a crime. Rep. Austen Schauer, R-West Fargo, noted that it is rare for a person who has been arrested to be completely exonerated.
Rep. Emily O'Brien, R-Grand Forks, said people who testified against the bill at a committee hearing acknowledged that newspapers do not always update stories indicating whether charges have been dropped or a defendant has been acquitted. Rep. Shannon Roers Jones, R-Fargo, an attorney, also spoke in favor of the bill. Roers Jones argued that passage would not prevent the media from obtaining photos from other sources, including Facebook or church directories, but would prevent publication of "incendiary" mug shots that might prejudice the public against them. She said mugshots can remain on the internet even if all charges have been dropped against a defendant. During the committee hearing on the bill, supporters of the bill had also spoken of the difficulty that online mugshots can cause people who are trying to find jobs or housing.
As amended, the bill would still have allowed law enforcement agencies to release a booking photo of a suspect if they deemed it a "compelling public safety" interest or if the defendant failed to appear for court, was a fugitive from justice, or had been convicted of the offense. It would also not have prevented law enforcement officers from sharing the booking photo with other law enforcement agencies.
There has been a nationwide movement to restrict booking photos out of concern that they are prejudicial to a defendant who has been accused but has not been convicted of an offense.
Some publications and news channels have also voluntarily adopted policies restricting the use of booking photos.
For instance, the Chicago Tribune announced earlier this month that its default policy going forward will be not to use a mugshot. Exceptions will be made in cases in which there is a high news value or a public safety interest.