In today’s digital age, being arrested for a crime can have devasting consequences and have personal and financial implications for those involved. With the emergence of online mugshot websites such as Mugshots.com, individuals that have been arrested and charged with a crime will often Google their names, only to find their booking photos prominently displayed on Page 1 of the search results. Regardless if a person is convicted of the crime or not, this information can stay online indefinitely and seriously affect the reputation of the parties involved.
Fortunately, some websites have instituted a removal policy for these online booking photos under certain conditions. For example, Mugshots.com offers to remove pictures for a fee through a 3rd party vendor if the arrest meets one of the following criteria:
*Charges have been legally Expunged, or Sealed
*Juvenile Records (under eighteen at time of arrest)
*Disposition of Acquittal or Not Guilty
*Clemency, Pardon, or Amnesty Commutation
*Non-adjudicated disposition
*Adjudication withheld
*Dismissal of charge
*Misdemeanor charge
*Non-Violent charge
*Diversion Program
*Nolle Prosequi
*Deceased relative
If you have been arrested in California and your booking photo(s) now appears online, your first step should be to try and get your case legally expunged (removed) so you will be in a better position when contacting those websites to have items taken down. Our law office has handled many expungement cases for those in Northern California, including San Francisco, Sunnyvale, and San Jose.
It’s important to note that there are numerous mugshot websites on the Internet and each one has their own removal policies and you should do research to see what types of content removal policies (if any) they have in place. We do not get involved in any of the online removal services, so that is something you will need to pursue independently once your case is legally expunged.
For more information on our law office’s expungement services, please call us at 408-451-8449 or fill in your contact information on the right hand side of this page and someone will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your options.
