Question About My Rights vs News Paper Article?

Question by shyguy1813: Question about my rights vs news paper article?
Here is the exact article:

“The Texas County Sheriff’s Department received information earlier this month that led to the arrest for possession of drug paraphernalia of two people at a ******** home.

**********, **, and her son, ***********, **, were both cited on Nov. 3 when 21 items of paraphernalia and one Texas County road sign were found in their residence at ********* **** *****. After the tip came in, three sheriff’s department officers joined by one from the ********* Police Department went to the ******** home and searched it after being given permission by ******** *******.
*

Two of the drug items were sent to the Missouri State Highway Patrol crime lab for analysis.”

All we have been given is a ticket so far. We haven’t gone to court or spoken to anyone much since. Do they have the right to do this? Shouldn’t there be innocent until proven guilty??? AND we weren’t arrested! it was all bogus to begin with… This article was released in the local paper and i feel it is a breach of my privacy. Please let me know.
They put less about meth busts in our area. They don’t give names in any of the other articles unless they are saying someone is found guilty. it just seems like they gave way to much info and made it sound so bad. In the Article about the meth bust all they give is the highway and one guys age of 39. thats all. not how many drug items were seized or any other detail. wtf?

Best answer:

Answer by healthminded
I don’t know how it is in your area, but our local crime blotter will include the names of any and all involved in any kind of crime. (yes, having drug paraphernalia in your possession is a crime)

Any dealings with the police I believe, become public knowledge.

Answer by LovesTheConstitution
Most arrest records are not private. The public has a right to see most. Newspapers have sued police departments, and courts have ordered police departments to make arrest records public.

Note that the article does not state that anyone is guilty. The article reports a search and subsequent actions by the sheriff’s department and police department.

Since you got a ticket, you should consider consulting your attorney. When you do, bring up your concern about the newspaper article.

If you do not consider this a serious matter, do not discuss it with your attorney.

 

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One Response to “Question About My Rights vs News Paper Article?”

  • Snarki Tiki:

    Arrest reports like this are published in the paper all the time. Many papers have a police blotter section where they print this kind of information. In some areas of the south they even print mugshots on a regular basis.

    The report even says that you were given a ticket (cited). If you have an encounter with a law, that is public record. Don’t smoke pot if you’re not willing to deal with the negative consequences.