"I just wanted to let you know that—in compliance with the recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the case of Houston v. Maricopa—the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office will not be publishing or releasing booking photos unless there is a public safety need for us to do so. "

 

I appreciate this email from HCSO PIO Meghan Ruiz. She is just doing her job. The decision was obviously made by people at a higher level on the County.

"Hi John,

I just wanted to let you know that—in compliance with the recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the case of Houston v. Maricopa—the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office will not be publishing or releasing booking photos unless there is a public safety need for us to do so. I will no longer be able to fulfill requests for booking photos unless it is requested via Public Records Request, and there is no guarantee it will be granted as it will need to meet the public safety need criteria.

Thank you!"

I emailed Eureka Police Chief Brian Stephens to see if EPD will be making any changes. Chief Stephens said he needs time to research the ruling and get back to me. 

I have already contacted 4 lawyers including those who are experts in this field such as the California Anti SLAAP project who may not respond. I am more interested in the ACLU of Northern California, Ms. Allison Jackson and Mr. Allan Dollison's feedback. Both are highly respected in Humboldt and all over California and their cases have been recognized nationally. 

No one covers court and crime like I do in Humboldt and this will affect my workload more than other media and the time I spend is already too much, 24/7 days a week. 

To submit a public records request everytime a booking photo is needed is ridiculous and typical Humboldt overkill and knee jerk reaction to a ruling that was not properly researched by the County. 

This policy is yet another overreaction from the County and/or Sheriff Honsal and a power trip to selectively decide and define what is in what is public safety and what requests will get granted. In Humboldt, we have a lot of repeat offenders who have prior convictions. Majority of the arrests and cases I cover end up in pleas and convictions. HCSO should be more concerned about constitutional rights such as serving search warrants and their employees not blurring personal and professional relationships when convenient.

The Ninth Circuit cookie cutter ruling does not fit every situation and jurisdiction. The Ninth Circuit ruling on enforcing laws on people sleeping in the  streets and camping was overruled.

According to ABC 15 in Arizona, "MCSO and some other counties in the state are temporarily not posting mugshots while they consult legal experts."

The MCSO argument and practice on their website is not even similar to what HCSO or EPD. Mendocino County inmate locator is similar to Maricopa County. Whoever advised Humboldt County and HCSO overreacted.

This is yet another blow to public safety and law enforcement and media suffering because the Ninth Circuit judges are too dumb and cowards to differentiate between legitimate use and irresponsible internet, social media users. Anonymous accounts, anonymous social media pages should have been restricted instead of another Ninth Circuit ruling which should be appealed. It isn't as if the court system is protecting the public from rapists, child molestors and murderers.

Here is an opinion from Jim Shields and I agree with his op-ed.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.advocate-news.com/2024/09/26/the-observer-appeals-court-bans-police-mug-shots-but-not-for-long/amp/