Bill to Allow the Release of Certain Booking Photographs Passes Full Senate
PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that SB 25, a bill providing the release of certain booking photographs has passed the full Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill on Thursday, January 12.
“The release of criminal booking photographs to the public will result in greater transparency in the criminal process, enhance public safety, and will further assist the media and the public in the proper identification of individuals in the criminal process,” said Jackley.
The bill would allow routine criminal booking photographs to be defined as a public record under South Dakota law. The statutes would not require a law enforcement agency to reproduce a criminal booking photograph older than six months.
Furthermore, an agency requested to provide or reproduce a criminal booking photograph would be entitled to recover reasonable retrieval and reproduction costs.
This legislation was a result of the work of the Attorney General’s Open Government Task Force, which included members of the media, law enforcement and municipal organizations.
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In South Dakota, you are now guilty in the court of public opinion and the principle of innocent until proven guilty is just an empty bromide.
This bill comes with a number of unintended consequences. I’ve written about them here: https://www.sdmatters.org/2017/01/15/ag-jackleys-legalized-extortion-bill/