PA Supreme Court ruling means you may not see a suspect’s mugshot in the news

PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling will now change how mugshots are handled when it comes to local news outlets, including access to them.

In a ruling from April, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down the decision in Mezzacappa v. Northampton County after a right-to-know (RTK) request was submitted over four years ago in Northampton County.

In December 2020, the request was submitted for various records, including a request for “all mug shots taken of all inmates” from October 2020 through December 2020.

The County delivered everything except the mug shots in February 2021, advising that the mug shots were exempt from disclosure under the right-to-know law because they constituted “confidential criminal history record information,” according to the lawsuit.

Later that same month, the requester appealed the denial to the Office of Open Records, which then directed the County to provide the mug shots. However, the requester filed a second RTK in which she stated she was seeking the last names of correctional officers who worked on the unit where she had been incarcerated between October 13 and October 15, 2020, as well as the previous request relating to the mug shots.

In February 2021, the County granted the second request in part. The County advised that the request for the mug shots was “insufficiently specific and unduly burdensome in the context requested,” according to the lawsuit. Furthermore, the County also noted that the mug shots could only be shared by State or local police departments as the photos comprised criminal history record information.

The requester then appealed the denial for a second time, and the Office of Open Records ultimately ordered the County in March 2021 to provide the requester with the mug shots. The office noted that “mug shots are routinely disseminated to the press, sometimes as part of a press release” and that if a mug shot contains criminal history record information, the County can redact the information, the lawsuit reads.

The County then proceeded to challenge the decision made by the Office of Open Records in the Commonwealth Court, where the ruling was handed down in favor of the office, with the court holding that the mug shots do not constitute “identifiable descriptions,” according to the lawsuit. The County then proceeded to challenge the decision in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Ultimately, the PA Supreme Court ruled that mug shots do constitute “identifiable descriptions” as defined in “Criminal history record information” in the Pennsylvania Constitution.

We further conclude that, pursuant to Section 9121(b), criminal history record information may only be disseminated to noncriminal justice agencies and individuals by a police department, and, thus, that the County, as a non-law enforcement agency, is prohibited from releasing the mug shots requested by Appellee. Accordingly, we reverse the decisions of the Commonwealth Court.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court

In an email to WTAJ, the Bedford County Prison confirmed that as a result of the aforementioned ruling, the facility is unable to provide any mug shots until further notice.

“Based upon a recent PA Supreme Court decision, the County is prohibited from releasing the request intake photos (mugshots) under the Pennsylvania Criminal History Record Information Act. 18 Pa. Cons, Stat. Ann. Sec. 9101, et seq,” The email reads. “I know this is a departure from our usual practice, but based on this court ruling, I am unable to provide these.  Once I receive more information related to this decision, I will provide an additional response.”

Outlets are currently advised to reach out to local or State police departments for mug shots until further information is released on the ruling. However, departments may not have photos available before someone is processed into a county prison.