Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 234 – Booking photographs
Terms Used In Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 234
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
A. As used in this Article:
(1) “Booking photograph” means a photograph or still, nonvideo image of an individual generated by a law enforcement agency for identification purposes after arrest or while in the agency’s custody.
(2) “Remove-for-pay publication or website” means a publication that requires the payment of a fee or other valuable consideration in order to remove or delete a booking photograph from the publication or which primarily utilizes the publication of booking photographs for profit or to obtain advertising revenue.
B.(1) A remove-for-pay publication or website shall remove and destroy a booking photograph of an individual who submits a request for removal and destruction within seven calendar days from the day that the individual makes the request if both of the following conditions exist:
(a) The individual in the booking photograph was acquitted of the criminal charge or not prosecuted, or the individual had the criminal charge expunged, vacated, or pardoned.
(b) The individual submits, in relation to the request, evidence of a disposition described in Subsubparagraph (a) of this Subparagraph.
(2)(a) A remove-for-pay publication or website shall not require payment for removal or destruction of the booking photograph.
(b) Any remove-for-pay publication or website that seeks any fee or other valuable consideration for the removal or destruction of a booking photograph shall be subject to prosecution under La. Rev. Stat. 14:66.
(3) If the remove-for-pay publication or website does not remove and destroy the booking photograph, the remove-for-pay publication or website shall be liable for all costs, including reasonable attorney fees, resulting from any legal action that the individual brings in relation to the failure of the remove-for-pay publication or remove-for-pay website to remove and destroy the booking photograph.
Acts 2022, No. 494, §2, eff. June 16, 2022; Acts 2023, No. 303, §1; Acts 2024, No. 281, §1.