The police in Louisville
passed out flyers with the names and photos of "known
shoplifters." Their list included Davis.
Davis had recently been
arrested on a shoplifting charge.
Davis was later found innocent
of shoplifting, but felt that his reputation had been damaged by the
flyers. He sued the police, claiming that his liberty interests had been infringed without the procedural
due process guaranteed by the 14th
Amendment.
Davis argued that even
though he wasn't a shoplifter, the local stores believed he was.
Davis also argued that his right
to privacy has been damaged.
The US Supreme Court found
that the flyers did not infringe on Davis' constitutional rights.
The US Supreme Court found
that there was no State law guaranteeing Davis any 'enjoyment of
reputation'. Therefore he had no constitutionally protected liberty
interest or property
interest in his reputation.
Therefore no constitutional right had been infringed, and there was no due
process issue.
The Court found that there
was no right to privacy in one's
arrest record.
The Court found that the right
to privacy was limited to "marriage,
procreation, contraception, family relationships, and child rearing and
education."
The Court suggested that the
civil tort law system was still available to Davis, if he wanted to sue
the police for libel under State law.
So basically, Davis still
might have a claim, but that claim would be based on State Statutes
against libel or slander, not based on any constitutionally guaranteed
right.
