FOIA Advisor

FOIA News: U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear mug shot case

FOIA News (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Free Press mug shot case

By Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, May 22, 2017

The U.S. Supreme Court this morning declined to hear the Detroit Free Press' challenge of a ruling that allows law enforcement agencies to withhold criminal mug shots in federal cases.

Without comment, the justices included the case of Detroit Free Press v. Department of Justice among those it was declining to schedule for arguments, leaving in place a decision last year by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In that  decision — issued last July —  the appeals court ruled 9-7  to overturn its own 1996 decision in favor of the Free Press that had allowed booking photographs to be released publicly.

Read more here.