Bizarre, Criminal law

Prisoner Elected Most Likely To Succeed

In high-profile cases, clients will sometimes ask defense counsel how they should look in a mug shot that will be plastered across the media. There are different schools of thought, but John Edwards clearly went with the smiling “I Can’t Believe These Guys Are Doing This” shot.

On one hand if you look sad, you look guilty On the other hand, if you look happy, you appear callous.

I have serious reservations about this case and its legal grounding. However, I would have encouraged Edwards to adopt a more neutral look for his mug shot.

16 thoughts on “Prisoner Elected Most Likely To Succeed”

  4. Rich Guy With Political Influence Mug Shot:

    1. Clean shirt.
    2. Necktie.
    3. No orange or pink jumpsuit.
    4. No placard with numbers.
    5. No black eye or other bruises.
    6. No red eyes from pepper spray or Mace.
    7. No scars from Tazer.

  8. So, is Jim Beam still the president of the KBA….Just askin…..

  10. Why are mug shots released to the public anyway? They are almost always unflattering, and because the pose itself is associated with criminality, the mug shot comes close to being a form of compelled “testimony” against one’s self. Except in the case of a fugitive, the release of these photographs serves no good public purpose I can discern. Like the “perp walk,” the release is intended to shame the accused. That’s punishment before conviction and should not be allowed. -Bruce in Jersey

    I agree.

  11. Frank,
    Your comments are correct. And that’s why I fly Southwest, the “Greyhound”
    of air travel. Nothing fancy, but you get to your destination on time (at least more than United that was my prior favorite).

    As for the mug shots, politicians seem to have a weird habit of posing for any camera around, even in the police station.

  12. I’d like to say Delta is the worst but, sadly, all the airlines seem to be in a race to the bottom these days. Anyone old enough to remember the bad old days of regulated airlines knows how great it used to be to fly. Now flying is second to the Greyhound in comfort, cleanliness and overall experience.

  13. Sorry for the delay this morning in posting. I fly Delta yesterday to Lexington to speak to the Kentucky Bar Association. After cancelled flights and delays, I arrived at 2 in the morning instead of 5 pm.

  14. Why are mug shots released to the public anyway? They are almost always unflattering, and because the pose itself is associated with criminality, the mug shot comes close to being a form of compelled “testimony” against one’s self. Except in the case of a fugitive, the release of these photographs serves no good public purpose I can discern. Like the “perp walk,” the release is intended to shame the accused. That’s punishment before conviction and should not be allowed.

  16. I guess they must think it is supposed to communicate “I’m not concerned because I did nothing wrong” but it doesn’t say that to me. When I see someone that looks that happy at booking I think, “there is a guy who has never seen the results of being crushed under the wheels of justice or believes it can’t happen to him.”

    Maybe they have that look because they believe they are privileged or because they think they are very clever or that they are the baddest man in the whole damn town. But whatever they are thinking I am unimpressed.

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