Shame First, Convict Later
Simple Justice:
Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi has come up with a great way to prove how he’s doing something about drunk driving. After a county cop was seriously hurt after being struck by a drunk driver as he was stopped to ticket a drunk driver, the expected public outcry was that “somebody has to do something.” The cops swore to nail a bunch, and they got 109 over the holiday weekend.
But that wasn’t good enough. Per this Newsday article, Suozzi created his “Wall of Shame,” showing photographs and identifying the people arrested. No doubt his constituents will love him dearly for his “doing something,” as they demanded.
And in what county officials called an unapologetic effort to shame those charged, the names and addresses of the suspects were itemized and distributed to the media; the mug shots of the 81 people charged with driving while intoxicated were to be posted on the county government’s Web site.
But, does anybody consider that this public shaming puts the cart before the horse? Let’s see what the lawprofs have to say.
“Is it ethical to shame a person before they have been deemed guilty?” asked Hofstra University ethicist Professor Arthur Dobrin. “Whatever can be done should be in this fight [against drunken driving], provided it is both legal and ethical. Here it may very well cross the line of the latter.”
Thanks for the forceful view, Arthur. Anyone else?
But Hofstra Law School professor Robin Charlow said in a recent interview that Suozzi was on the right track constitutionally. “We want to use the criminal law to deter others from committing crimes. Shaming individuals — which Suozzi is attempting — serves the same function,” she said.
Robin Charlow, just so you know, teaches con law and crim law.
Fortunately, someone has the guts to cut to…