“Foxy Felons” and the Unexpected Consequences of Crime

Someone working at a website called The Smoking Gun scrutinized the “mugshots” of “female offenders” posted at the Florida Department of Corrections webpage, culled the ones he or she (I’m guessing he) found attractive, and posted them as “Foxy Felons,” parts one and two. One woman who had her picture posted, Casey Ann Hicks, apparently hired a lawyer, and The Smoking Gun asserts it received this letter as a result, which it posted in conjunction with this post, headlined: “Foxy Felon Threatens TSG: Lawyer claims some web fans get their kicks leering at Ms. Hicks,” and reporting in pertinent part:

“…attorney Terry Bork contends that our publication of Hicks’s mug shot and details of her rap sheet somehow invades the young felon’s privacy and holds her up to ridicule. The posting of his client’s mug shot, Bork claims, has led Hicks to become fearful for her safety, since she has become a topic of discussion of unnamed “numerous blogs.” Making matters worse, he adds, our posting of Hicks’s photo “has invited members of the public” to use her mug shot for masturbatory purposes. The self- gratification claim appears to be based on unspecified blog entries. Through our counsel, we’ve politely declined Bork’s request.”

Because the Courtroom Television Network (more popularly known as Court TV), owns and operates The Smoking Gun, my guess is that The Smoking Gun can afford a lot more legal representation (in terms of both quality and quantity) than Casey Ann Hicks can, and for that reason alone (and without rendering an opinion concerning the applicable law in the area), I doubt her odds of forcing The Smoking Gun to remove her photograph and personal information from their website are very good. From a moral standpoint, though, it seems to me that The Smoking Gun is behaving very badly.

–Ann Bartow

p.s. This came to my attention via Concurring Opinions.