Being arrested for committing a crime can be a very embarrassing and humbling experience. One moment you are going about your business just like you would on any other day, then suddenly you are put in handcuffs, placed under arrest, told to pose for a mug shot and fingerprinted. When the charges against you are finally dismissed, or you are found not guilty and thus are free to go, you probably feel quite relieved and glad you are able to put that moment in your life behind you. Due to numerous for profit mug-shot websites, your story unfortunately may not end there.
Websites like busted.com and mugshots.com have built their business models around collecting police photos of individuals immediately after they are placed under arrest. They then post these images on their websites, regardless of whether or not the arrestees' cases were dismissed. To many, this is easily clearly a violation of an arrestee's legal rights. The only way a person could remove their image was to pay the hundreds of dollars in fees each mug-shot website required. As the mug-shot websites were known for ranking high in Google searches thus making it easy for any potential employer, business associate, investor or other individual to find the mug shot, millions of individuals felt they had no other choice but to give in and pay the costly fees.
Then earlier this year, in an effort to put an end to the alleged extortion of the millions of innocent Americans who have found their mug shots on one or more of these websites, many different lawsuits as well as one class-action lawsuit began being filed against these sites. More fallout occurred after a hard-hitting article on the subject appeared in the NY Times. Google announced that it would be adjusting its ranking algorithm so that for profit mug-shot sites would no longer appear at the top of search results. MasterCard, American Express, Discover and PayPal also committed to cutting their ties with such companies and stated they would no longer allow these types of sites to run transactions using their cards.
If you have been arrested or charged with a criminal offense in Daytona Beach it is vital that you take immediate action to hire legal counsel. An experienced Daytona Beach criminal defense attorney from our firm can be counted upon to protect your rights and provide you with the aggressive representation needed to help you obtain the most optimum results for your case. For years the attorneys here at Buckmaster & Ellzey have been strong advocates for our clients' rights. We take pride in having helped countless individuals success fight their charges and retain their freedom. We do not back down in the face of adversity and we always work hard to stay at least one step ahead of the prosecution. From the beginning of your case all the way through to the end, we are here for you. If you are in need of legal counsel, contact our firm right away.