The concept of shaming as part of a criminal punishment is not new. For years, various local newspapers have printed the names of people convicted of drunk driving. For some, the stigma of a DUI arrest is worse than the actual penalty. Newspapers argue that the information is public and they have a right to publish it.
More law enforcement agencies and prosecutors offices are getting into the shaming business, now that the internet makes such publications easy and free.
The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) is the latest agency to start posting information about people who are arrested for DUI. Starting last Wednesday, HPD posted the mug shots and names of the previous week's arrests. On average, there are more than 80 DUI arrests on the island of Oahu every week.
In Hawaii, DUI is a crime. People accused of it enjoy a presumption of innocence. That means that of the 80-plus people arrested each week, some could be innocent. It doesn't matter to the police, and arrest records and mugshots are public records.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, agrees with HPD's move, but remains skeptical that it will make any difference. Logically, MADD's stance makes sense. If a person is truly impaired and the idea of potentially killing themselves or somebody else doesn't stop them from driving, it is highly unlikely that the thought of their picture going online for 24 hours would.
DUI defense attorneys argue that it is improper to post the picture of a potentially innocent person in a public place and expose that person to prejudgment based on an arrest. "A case should be decided in the Justice System. Justice is not served by pre-conviction public shaming," said Florida DUI Attorney John Musca.
"In Arizona, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office publishes a website that shows the mugshots of people convicted of DUI," said Arizona DUI Lawyer Stewart Bergman. "While I don't agree with it as it's not part of the penalties prescribed by the Arizona DUI Statute, it is certainly better than publishing mugshots upon arrest."
But even Sheriff Joe Arpaio of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office publishes a database of people arrested by his agency within the past 3 days. Users can search by name or booking number, or view everybody arrested in the past three days for any particular offense. When DUI is looked up, people with simple misdemeanor DUI arrests are lumped in with people arrested for serious vehicular felonies such as aggravated assault.
DUI arrests are embarrassing. The HPD has added a new layer of shame to the pretrial process.
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