MUGSHOT LAW FLORIDA – Class Action lawsuit vs. Mugshot websites
Generally speaking, a ”class action” is when a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court in which a defendant or group of defendants is being sued. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_action
The main problem with Mugshot companies/sites and Mugshot removal companies/sites is they can be formed and hosted in different states (outside of Florida). Some are even located in other countries to avoid detection and United States law. Thus, many times, threatening State action against them can be pointless because state law usually requires a plaintiff to sue a defendant in the state in which the defendant conducts its principle place of business.
There are exceptions to this rule called the “long arm” statute. If the long arm statute applies, you can sue a Defendant in the state in which the act giving rise to the dispute happended. The criteria for long arm jurisdiction requires that a defendant has purposefully availed himself/herself/itself to the benefits of the forum state so as to reasonably foresee being haled into court in that state; that the forum state (ie. the state where the harm took place) has sufficient interest in the dispute; and that making the defendant come to court does not offend “notions of fair play and substantial justice.” This last element of “notions of fair play” is a grey area in the law; however it essentially means it must be “fair” that the defendant actions could result in being sued outside its jurisdiction due to its substantial ties/financial gain with the forum state. http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Long-Arm+Statute
Most times, the hosting sites like Go Daddy, Register.com, etc. keep their owners “confidential” for a fee. This just frustrates justice. Mugshot posting sites do this to avoid having the owner’s being found, served, and sued. However, Attorney Douctre has ways to find these owners and bring them to justice.
Consequently, Attorney Douctre believes a Federal Class Action lawsuit is needed to combat corrupt predatory companies from extorting money from so many people. Mugshot posting harms people’s reputations and holds the victim’s image hostage simply because they can. Rarely do these sites promote the original intent of the public’s right to know and the 1st Amendment.
“These mugshot companies are wrongfully hiding behind the public’s right to know information and the 1st Amendment to indirectly extort people who were arrested. While it may not be criminal yet, the legalities of Mugshot posting is certainly an interesting and novel area of law.”
Attorney Douctre
Attorney Douctre is in the process of interviewing as many plaintiffs as possible for the filing a Federal Class Action lawsuit against various mugshot companies who deny Attorney Douctre’s request to remove his clients’ Mugshot.
http://classactionagainstmugshotwebsites.com is a good site to read up to date information about Mugshot class action momentum.
Also check out this collections of Mugshot related links for interesting information:
http://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/mug-shot-website–207822031.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/mug-shot-websites-lawsuit-publicity-rights_n_2472607.html
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/policeblotter/201301050124
http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/local_news/lawsuit-goes-after-extortion-mugshot-websites
