UPDATE:

SHB 1689 Bill

The SHB 1689 "bookings" bill to allow newspapers and other media to access and publish mug shots after a suspect is charged, but before convicted, was struck down in Olympia Thursday, March 24. Arguments were made Monday by the ACLU and those representing Washington State newspapers, and others.

At the heart of the matter is whether the mug shot of someone charged, but not yet convicted, of a crime, must be released to a media outlet upon request. Since 1998, Washington State said no, that police investigators were permitted to release such photos at their discretion, but not obligated to do so. Once charged, media has access to mug shots, and of course can take photos of those charged exiting the court, too.

The bill tried to overturn this and was unsuccessful.

State Senator Sharon Nelson's view

State Senator Sharon Nelson sits on the Senate Government Operations Committee. She represents the 34th District, which includes part of Burien, North Highline, Vashon/Maury Islands, and West Seattle. She spoke with the West Seattle Herald Thursday on this matter.

"Rowland Thompson representing the newspapers has done a good job presenting how the newspapers might utilize bookings photos, but the ACLU has done an excellent job as well, discussing how that might hurt folks who are charged and need a fair trial," Nelson said. Rowland Thompson is Executive Director, Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington. "I decided to vote 'no' if the bill was brought up. It was on the list to potentially be voted on today (Thursday) in committee but was not brought up. Today was the cut-off, the last day for the Gov. Ops. committee. This point in time the bill is considered not out of committee in time to go to the floor, so it is dead.

"Some of the newspapers have been very interested in getting access to these photos, and the newspapers made a reasonable case initially on how it could be used for the public benefit," she continued. "But what concerned me is once an article is run, and normally the booking photos are not real flattering, it can do damage to somebody's reputation. if they don't go to trial, or they do, but don't get convicted, that photo still stays in our Internet world forever and ever. That was compelling to me."

She said she believes that in some cases an attorney might have access to such photos to assist in their case. For instance, the ACLU itself might want a mug shot to try to prove a convict was injured during their arrest.

Washington Newspaper Publishers side

"I was at the hearing on Monday when the ACLU testified, and I testified as well," Bill Will told the West Seattle Herald. Will is Executive Director, Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, or WNPA. He said the ACLU was joined by lobbyists for the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers,

"The legislature declined to vote it out of committee so that effectively kills the bill without taking a vote," Will said. "There are a milllion ways for a bill to die and that's one of them. We'll try again during the next session. Washington is really an anomaly. There are only about 13 states that won't release the booking photos.

"What the ACLU used to scare the committee is show them some websites in other states where people will harvest mug shots from every police agency they can find, put them up on a website, and track down the person in the photo and say, 'if you dont want this up send us a check for 30 or 50 dollars a month.' I never saw these sites before, but when the ACLU showed them, it scared the hell out of the legislators.

"We've been trying for 12 years to get booking photos back since the supreme court decision closed them off, so it's disappointing. It was common practice here until the supreme court ruling.

Will is referring to a decision made September, 1998, when a state appeals panel in Spokane unanimously held that a police incident report and jail booking photograph contained in an investigative file are "categorically exempt" from disclosure under Washington's Public Records Act.

Sept., 1998 NEWS MEDIA UPDATE ARTICLE on Supreme Court ruling:

The court determined that the report was part of an open investigatory file and need not be released "until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings." The court also held that although the police department had discretion to release the photo to assist an investigation, it could not be compelled to do so.

The Associated Press reported that the decision stemmed from a civil suit filed by The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review against city officials following the arrest of an assistant city attorney.

In May 1997, Spokane city attorney Milton Rowland was arrested for third-degree assault. The newspaper published a story based on a police incident report that was read to a reporter by a police department official.

Cowles Publishing Co., the newspaper's parent company, then requested a copy of the incident report and asked that the booking photo be released. The Spokane Police Department denied the request, asserting that the records were investigative records and therefore exempt from disclosure. Cowles then filed suit in Superior Court in Spokane to force disclosure.

In August 1997, the court entered an order requiring disclosure. The department appealed the decision the following day.

Prior to the appellate panel's decision, Rowland entered a guilty plea. Meanwhile, in a separate case, the Washington Supreme Court held that the contents of an open police investigatory file are exempt from disclosure under Washington law. Subsequently, the police department released a copy of the incident report, but withheld the photograph.

Cowles argued that the definition of "open investigation" should be limited to those investigations in which an arrest has not yet been made.

In upholding the refusal to disclose the information, the court held that "open investigation" has a broad meaning. The panel held that whether an arrest has been made was not the only factor to be considered, noting that courts may consider, for instance, the views of the case investigators and whether resources are still being allocated to the investigation.