The use of state crime and accident records for targeted,direct‐mail solicitations: Commercial speech,access and privacy

Direct‐mail solicitations targeted to individuals identified in state crime and accident records raise privacy concerns. State statutes seeking to restrict the commercial use of information in these records raise First Amendment implications for both the senders and receivers of information in this context. This article analyzes conflicting court opinions on the constitutionality of state statutes seeking to limit direct‐mail solicitations targeted to individuals involved in crimes and accidents through controls on availability and use of information contained in public crime and accident records. The article suggests that statutes permanently barring commercial access to public crime and accident records or banning commercial use of information obtained from these records run afoul of the recently invigorated commercial speech doctrine and violate the First Amendment.