ATLANTA - The federal appeals court in Atlanta has upheld a court's decision that denied a freelance reporter a request for mug shots.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday affirmed a judge's decision that found the U.S. Marshals Service did not have to supply the reporter with a mug shot.
Theodore Karantsalis in July 2009 requested a mug shot of Luis Giro, who had pleaded guilty to securities fraud charges. He said the government should release the photos because it had done so in other cases, notably when the Marshals released booking photos of Bernard Madoff.
The three-judge panel's ruling adopted the Florida judge's ruling that found the photos were gathered for law enforcement purposes and that disclosing them would constitute an unwarranted invasion of Giro's personal privacy.