In 2014, Mark Sherman Law took 3 national media companies to the United States Supreme Court for a client whose arrest report continued to be published online after the dismissal of her criminal charges.
Since the history-making case of Martin v. Hearst, Connecticut publications have recognized this lawsuit and have accommodated demands made by the Law Office of Mark Sherman’s internet scrub practice (click here for more on what we can do for you).
New in the world of online arrest reports and ruined reputations, and to the delight of anyone who has ever been haunted by articles of their arrest, is the fresh start initiative. In recent months, large news corporations have taken a slightly more relaxed approach to continue to publish arrest reports online after a person’s criminal case has been dismissed. Publications like the Boston Globe have launched Fresh Start initiatives that allow people to petition for the removal of their arrest reports.
Don’t be fooled—this doesn’t mean your arrest report will automatically be removed after your case is closed. Petitions are ruled on a case-by-case basis and don’t mean an article will be removed entirely.
Maybe but it could seriously BACKFIRE. We’ve seen this happen too many times. Some online publications have taken to updating arrest reports to reflect how the case turned out, which can be just as damaging as the original publication. Republishing a story with new information can send the story further up in search results and can cause more harm than good. Contact an experienced internet scrub attorney before accepting any offer for compromise from an online publication.
Online newspapers will continue to publish your arrest report even after your criminal case is dismissed and your arrest records have been destroyed by the State of Connecticut. Newspapers love to publish and advertise police blotters as clickbait. In Connecticut, arrest reports are public records until the criminal case is dismissed. Even though official records of your arrest are destroyed, publications of your arrest may live forever on the internet.
While Connecticut law allows newspapers to publish reports of an arrest, Connecticut’s Erasure Statute—under Connecticut General Statute § 54-142a—allows someone charged with a crime to swear under oath that they’ve never been arrested once the case is dismissed. The erasure statute prohibits the court and law enforcement agencies holding records of an arrest from disclosing records following dismissal—meaning no publication can get their hands on your arrest report again.
Not before you hire an internet scrubbing law firm like Mark Sherman Law. All too often we hear horror stories from clients who have engaged the services of reputation management websites to help bury arrest reports. While these management websites mean well, their goal is typically to bury unfavorable articles in search results instead of seeking the removal of the article completely. Burying an arrest report may be a short-term fix but ultimately leaves the article out in the public, discoverable by future employers.
If you need assistance getting your arrest reports and mug shots taken offline, contact the experienced attorneys at Mark Sherman Law today to find out how we can help. Call us 24/7 to discuss how to protect your online reputation and click here to read certified reviews from internet scrub clients.
