Justice and Transparency

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that police and judges do not have the right to suppress the records of their arrests, which are public information for us mere mortals:

Booking photographs of judges and law enforcement officers who are arrested and any police reports connected with their cases are public records, even if the officials are never arraigned in court, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Thursday.

In one of two major rulings on the intersection between the public’s right to know and the privacy protections in the state’s Criminal Offender Record and Information Act, the court ruled unanimously that The Boston Globe was entitled to booking photos and reports on police officers arrested on drunken driving charges and the booking photo and report on the arrest of a judge for theft.

"The public has a vital interest in ensuring transparency where the behavior of these public officials allegedly fails to comport with the heightened standards attendant to their office,'' Chief Justice Ralph Gants wrote in the 6-0 ruling.

The SJC also, for the first time, made it clear that government agencies must extract data from their electronic records to comply with requests under the state’s public records law. The law allows the government to deny requests if the information sought would force them to create a “new record.”

………

In the court’s decision ordering the release of booking photos and reports, Gants wrote that “where police officers and judges allegedly engage in criminal conduct that does not result in an arraignment ... the public has a substantial interest in ascertaining whether the case was not prosecuted because it lacked merit or because these public officials received favorable treatment arising from their position or relationships.”

(emphasis mine)

I wholeheartedly agree.

When the law is structured to grant special rights to members of law enforcement, particularly as it applies to corruption and malfeasance, we are taking a step toward creating a police state.

Closer to home, Maryland should repeal the so called "Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights," which has exacerbated a culture of corrupt impunity among Maryland law enforcement.