Brian Houston v. Maricopa, County Of

I. Background

Brian Houston was arrested by Phoenix police in January 2022 and charged with assault. 1 During Maricopa County’s jail booking process, Houston’s photo was taken and posted, alongside many others, on the County’s publicly accessible “Mugshot Lookup” website. Next to the mugshot photo were Houston’s full name, birthdate, and an entry under “Crime Type” describing the category of his alleged offense. Pushing a “More Details” button would have revealed Houston’s sex, height, weight, hair color, eye color, and the specific charges on which he was arrested. The post remained online for approximately three days, pursuant to

1 Because we are reviewing an order dismissing this case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), we recite the facts as alleged in Houston’s complaint, which we take as true. See Lee v. City of Los Angeles, 250 F.3d 668, 679 (9th Cir. 2001).

HOUSTON V. COUNTY OF MARICOPA

the Sheriff’s Office’s regular practice. 2 Houston was never prosecuted on the charges noted on the post, which were later dropped. To justify its mugshot posting practice, the County asserts that its posts promote transparency in the criminal legal…