Way back when, June 21, 2017, I wrote about an new bill (Senate Bill 118) that would help people on two fronts, getting mugshots removed, and administratively sealing criminal records that were dismissed. The law was supposed to be enacted on July 1, 2018. After July 1, 2018 I went in search of Florida Statute 943.0586 to help several of my clients administrative seal their record. What I found was….Nothing.
Florida Statute 943.0568 was not enacted
Despite being signed into law by our governor, the bill was only adapted in part. SB 118 was comprised of two separate portions introduced by Senator Brandes and Senator Stuebe that complimented each other. The first portion allowed for the removal of mug shots upon request by third party publishers such as mugshots.com. The second portion allowed the clerk to seal a case which was not filed or dismissed prior to trial. The second portion would have allowed the clerk of court. Confusion arose when Governor Rick Scott passed this bill which was supposed to take effect on July 1, 2018, but then we learned the second portion was contingent upon Senator Brandis’ SB 450 or its counterpart SB 369 passing as well. But since SB 450 or 369 did not pass, the 943.0586 statute the we previously reported on our blog, did not make it into law.
Removal of Mugshots
Florida Statute section 901.43 is the statute controlling the mug shots. It makes it illegal to solicit or accept a fee or other form of payment to remove the booking photographs. The person whose arrest booking photograph was published or otherwise disseminated in the publication or electronic medium may bring a civil action to enjoin the continued publication or dissemination of the photograph if the photograph is not removed within 10 calendar days after receipt of the written request for removal. The court may impose a civil penalty of $1,000 per day for noncompliance
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