📷 Mugshots and Their Admissibility at Trial in Massachusetts

The use of a defendant’s mugshot during trial is strictly limited in Massachusetts. In order for a prosecutor to use the defendant’s mugshot at least three criteria must be met:

(1) the prosecution must show some need to introduce the mug shots;

(2) the mug shots, to the extent possible, should not indicate a prior record; and

(3) the mug shots should not call attention to their origins and implications.”

Commonwealth v. Glee, 36 Mass. App. Ct. 154, 157-158 (1994)

Even when the court permits a prosecutor to use a defendant’s mugshot the photo “should be sanitized to avoid calling the jury’s attention to {its} source.” See Commonwealth v. Cohen, 412 Mass. 375, 282 (1992).

Additionally, the Supreme Judicial Court disfavors use of the phrase “mugshot” when referring to the photo.