Lawsuit Over Nassau County "Wall of Shame"

Nassau County is being sued over its DWI "Wall of Shame," which was instituted Memorial Day weekend after a cop was seriously injured by a DWI driver after pulling over another DWI suspect. Lawyer Brian Griffin says his client's mugshot and name should be removed from the Nassau County website, saying, "I don't think you need a law degree to understand that this fundamentally goes against a system of justice in which punishment occurs after you've been found guilty." However, Nassau County's public attorney argues, "These are public documents being given public airing," adding that the website stresses that the defendants are presumed innocent.

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By Jen Chung in News on October 10, 2008 1:17 PM

Comments [rss]

west side Michael

This website is great I watch the usually crooked

facial features of most of the perp's.

Something about one's features not being quite

right that makes you a criminal??

Could be the PD camera has some distortions?

Anyway I look at all the faces as a movie which

makes me feel in the mood after awhile to go to

sleep,happy in my quiet solitude as Duke Ellington

would say.

Amelia Bedelia

Better yet-

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-liacci-pg,0,5210574.photogallery

Amelia Bedelia

I'm totally in favor of the virtual stockade. If the idea of kiiling a family traveling in a car is not enough to stop thses self absorbed asses then perhaps a little public shame will.

There's no excuse for drunk driving and if someone makes the choice to endanger the lives of everyone else around them so that they can get home from a night of good times and partying they deserve to be publicly shamed at the very least. Driving drunk is intent to kill.

"In 2006, there were 13,470 fatalities in crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver (BAC of .08 or higher) – 32 percent of total traffic fatalities for the year."

http://www.alcoholalert.com/drunk-driving-statistics.html

zodak

patnugent: i lol'd

buzzbuzzard

#4: The problem with the idea that this is an "airing of public records" is that it isn't just that. The people up there are seen as guilty because of the simple fact that it's a "Wall of Shame."

If it were to turn out that anyone there who was picked up for DUI was actually sober and is innocent, there isn't going to be a "Wall of Sorry, Our Bad." Even if there was, people will likely only remember the Wall of Shame.

Rob T Firefly

It's more than a matter of public record if you're deliberately collecting and posting them to "shame" the suspects. I'd be all for this if it were a collection of those *convicted* of DWI, but we should not be deliberately shaming people who have not actually been convicted of anything yet.

woodendesigner

Regardless if they are found guilty down the line or not, the fact that they were picked up for DUI is a public record and therefore I do not see anything wrong with it. Maybe it will discourage some people to take the risk.