Rep. Chad Banks' mug shot bill approved in committee

JACKSON — In a world of rapid sharing online, the Wyoming Legislature is considering a bill that may protect those charged with a crime from the harsh court of public opinion.

State lawmakers heard testimony Monday on a proposed law that would prohibit the release of mug shots unless the person was convicted. The bill is being sponsored by Rep. Chad Banks, a Democrat from Sweetwater County.

“This bill is not meant to disparage law enforcement or their efforts in any way,” Banks said when introducing the bill. “Citizens in my county are really concerned about this.”

The bill, HB 0051, would amend Wyoming Statute 7-19-106, which outlines the legal access to and the dissemination of criminal history records.

Banks testified on the motivation behind introducing his bill based on issues in his county.

“My county is not the only county where this happens, but we have three electronic news media sources, and their first post every morning about 6:30 or 7 a.m. is the mug shots of those folks arrested the day prior,” Banks said.

“And that, in my community, has become a huge source of rumor, of gossip, of water cooler fodder. And those mug shots stay around forever regardless if those people are ultimately charged, or if those charges are dropped,” he said.

Wing Lew, a resident from Rock Springs, testified via Zoom on his experience when his own mug shot was released in May 2020 after he failed to maintain a single lane of traffic and was booked on charges of DUI and possessing a controlled substance.

Lew admitted he performed poorly on the field sobriety test, but he blew a zero on the portable Breathalyzer and the Breathalyzer at the police station, he said. His lab report weeks later confirmed he did not have controlled substances in his system. His charges were ultimately dismissed a few weeks after the incident.

For Lew, however, the damage to his reputation was done.

“My family are hospitality business owners in the community for over 50 years,” Lew said. “My wife was extremely embarrassed because she’s a certified nurse and midwife. My high school-aged kids were also embarrassed because everyone looks at those posts to see who was arrested. I urge your consideration on this bill because what happened to me was extremely wrong.”

The bill did cite exceptions under which mug shots could be released, such as if the individual in question is a fugitive with imminent threat to an individual or public safety, or to assist law enforcement in apprehending that individual.

The ease with which criminal justice agencies could share information among themselves was an important discussion point.

Rep. Ember Oakley, a Republican from Rawlins and a county attorney, helped amend the bill to make it broader, so as not to impede legitimate law enforcement purposes by requiring a judge to order a mug shot’s release.

“The way this reads, a judge has to order the release of a mug shot for a legitimate law enforcement purpose, and what I’m concerned about is that there’s a use for [mug shots]; that’s why they’re taken,” Oakley said.

Oakley uses them for court purposes in identifying defendants.

“I think this might go too far in saying that a judge has to order it,” Oakley said.

Banks clarified the intent.

“Our goal is by no means to hamper law enforcement,” Banks said. “ ‘Release’ in this context means in a public fashion. This would not be subject to internal shares or shares among agencies.”

The committee also heard testimony via Zoom from Rock Springs’ Chief of Police, Dwane Pacheco, who supported the bill. It was Pacheco’s police department that arrested and charged Lew for DUI and controlled substance.

“We did review that arrest,” Pacheco said in reference to Lew’s testimony. “We did find that the officer had probable cause.”

Currently, names and mug shots are available daily on the Sweetwater County Detention Center website.

When Oakley asked whether this issue could be solved in Pacheco’s county with an internal policy change rather than new legislation, Pacheco expressed he didn’t feel he could deny releasing mug shots to news agencies or on the sheriff’s website without a law change.

“I feel this is the appropriate venue because those current rules [to release mug shots] come from the jail and county sheriff,” Pacheco said. “We have no control over them pushing out that information.”

In the debate over passing the bill, House Judiciary Committee Vice Chair Art Washut said it was superfluous since names are allowed to be publicly released.

“The same damage would have been done to [Lew’s] reputation if just his name and a stock photo of his business was printed,” Washut argued.

“I don’t think this bill solves the problem, which really deals with the release of the arrest information. The mug shot itself wasn’t the problem; it was the story,” he said.

Rep. Karlee Provenza, an Albany County Democrat, voiced her support in favor of the bill, saying, “The court of public opinion is pretty harsh. If we are truly to respect the adage ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ we should take what we need to protect that.”

The bill, as amended by the committee, will return to the House floor for first reading.