No. 14-1670 in the UNITED STATES COURT of APPEALS for the Sixth Circuit DETROIT FREE PRESS, INC, Plaintiff-Appellee, V. UNITED S
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No. 14-1670 In The UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS For the Sixth Circuit DETROIT FREE PRESS, INC, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Defendant-Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE THE REPORTERS COMMITTEE FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND 36 MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS IN SUPPORT OF APPELLEE SEEKING AFFIRMATION Bruce D. Brown Counsel of Record Katie Townsend Adam A. Marshall The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press 1156 15th St. NW, Suite 1250 Washington, D.C. 20005 Tel: (202) 795-9300 [email protected] All amici listed on the next page. LIST OF AMICI CURIAE 1. American Society of News Editors 2. The Associated Press 3. Association of Alternative Newsmedia 4. The Association of American Publishers, Inc. 5. Bloomberg L.P. 6. Cable News Network, Inc. 7. California Newspaper Publishers Association 8. Cox Media Group, Inc. 9. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 10. The E.W. Scripps Company 11. First Amendment Coalition 12. First Look Media 13. Forbes Media LLC 14. Hearst Corporation 15. The McClatchy Company 16. MediaNews Group, Inc. 17. National Newspaper Association 18. The National Press Club 19. National Press Photographers Association 20. National Public Radio, Inc. 21. New England First Amendment Coalition 22. New England Newspaper and Press Association, Inc. 23. New England Society of Newspaper Editors 24. The New York Times Company 25. News Corp 26. Newspaper Association of America 27. North Jersey Media Group Inc. 28. Online News Association 29. Radio Television Digital News Association 30. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press 31. The Seattle Times Company 32. Society of Professional Journalists 33. Stephens Media LLC 34. Time Inc. 35. Tribune Publishing Company 36. Tully Center for Free Speech 37. The Washington Post ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF AMICI CURIAE ............................................................................. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................. iii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ...........................................................................v IDENTITY AND INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE ....................................... x AUTHORSHIP STATEMENT .......................................................................x CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT ............................................... x AUTHORITY TO FILE AMICUS BRIEF ...................................................... x SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT .......................................................................1 ARGUMENT ...................................................................................................3 I. There is no personal privacy interest in a mugshot that allows the government to withhold it under Exemption 7(C). ............................... 3 A. Mugshots have been historically open to the public. ..................... 4 B. The Constitution, the laws of the vast majority of States, and the common law make clear that there is no personal privacy interest in mugshots. ...................................................................................5 1. There is no constitutional right of privacy in mugshots of persons who have been arrested and charged with crimes. ........ 6 2. The public has a right of access or presumptive right of access to mugshots in almost every state. .............................................. 7 3. The common law does not provide for a privacy interest in mugshots. ....................................................................................8 C. The Department of Justice frequently publishes mugshots and other photographs of arrestees. ....................................................10 iii II. The public interest in overseeing the administration of justice far outweighs any purported privacy interest implicated by mugshots. .11 A. The release of mugshots helps inform the public what the government is doing, or not doing, with respect to arrestees ......12 B. The release of mugshots informs the public as to the current and historic activities of its law enforcement .....................................15 CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................19 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE ............................................................20 Certificate of Service .....................................................................................21 Appendix A ....................................................................................................22 Appendix B ....................................................................................................22 Appendix C ....................................................................................................27 Appendix D ....................................................................................................28 Appendix E ....................................................................................................42 Appendix F ....................................................................................................44 Appendix G ....................................................................................................46 Appendix H ....................................................................................................58 Appendix I .....................................................................................................63 iv TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Dep’t of Justice v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749 (1989) .......................................................................................................... 5, 7, 12 Detroit Free Press v. Dep’t of Justice, 73 F.3D 93 (6th Cir. 1996) ................ passim Detroit Free Press, Inc. v. Oakland Cnty. Sheriff, 418 N.W.2d 124 (Mich. Ct. App. 1987) ....................................................................................................................25 EPA v. Mink, 410 U.S. 73 (1973) ..............................................................................3 Frith v. Associated Press, 176 F. Supp. 671 (D.S.C. 1959) ..................................8, 9 Hemeyer v. KRCG-TV, 6 S.W.3d 880 (Mo. 1999) ..................................................25 Kapellas v. Kofman, 459 P.2d 912 (Cal. 1969) .......................................................15 Karantsalis v. United States Dep’t Of Justice, 635 F.3d 497 (11th Cir. 2011) .......16 Milner v. Dep’t of the Navy, 562 U.S. 562,__, 131 S.Ct. 1259, 1265 (2011) ........... 3 Nat’l Archives & Records Admin. v. Favish, 541 U.S. 157 (2004) .........................14 Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 693 (1976) .......................................................................6, 7 Planned Parenthood of Westchester, Inc. v. Town Bd. of Greenburgh, 587 N.Y.S.2d 461 (Sup. Ct. 1992) ..............................................................................26 Prall v. N.Y.C. Dept. of Corr., 971 N.Y.S.2d 821 (Sup. Ct. 2013) .........................26 Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555 (1980) ...............................15 State ex rel. Borzych v. Paluszcyk, 201 Wis. 2d 523 (Ct. App. 1996).....................27 Statutes 5 ILCS 140/2.15 .......................................................................................................24 5 U.S.C. § 552 ............................................................................................................3 65 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 67.701 ......................................................................................26 v Ala Code § 36-12-40 ................................................................................................24 Alaska Stat. § 50.25.110 ..........................................................................................24 Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 39-121 .................................................................................24 Ark. Code. Ann. § 25-19-105 ..................................................................................24 Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 24-72-303(1), 27-72-302(4) & (7); ........................................24 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 1-210 ..........................................................................................24 Del. Code. Ann. § 10003 .........................................................................................24 Fla. Stat. § 119.011(1) ..............................................................................................24 Ga. Code Ann. § 50-18-72(a)(4) ..............................................................................24 Haw. Rev. Stat. § 92F-11(b) ....................................................................................24 Idaho Code Ann. § 9-338 .........................................................................................24 Ind. Code Ann. § 5-14-3-3 .......................................................................................25 Iowa Code § 22.7(9).................................................................................................25 Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 61.872 ...................................................................................25 La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 44:3 ........................................................................................25 MD. Code Ann. State Gov’t §§ 10-611 – 630 .........................................................25 Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 1, § 408-A ...................................................................................25