In incredibly disturbing news this week, a Washington, D.C. Superior Court judge dismissed a case in which a Virginia man was charged with two counts of attempted voyeurism. The charges stem from an incident in 2013 when Christopher Cleveland was arrested for taking up-skirt photos of women at the Lincoln Memorial. And although police officers did find several images of women’s butts on the camera, as well as other comparable shots from his previous pervy excursions, Judge Juliet McKenna decided there was nothing illegal about his activities.
“This Court finds that no individual clothed and positioned in such a manner in a public area in broad daylight in the presence of countless other individuals could have a reasonable expectation of privacy,” Judge McKenna wrote in her ruling.
She also stated that because Cleveland didn’t go to “extraordinary lengths” to capture the photos, he did not meet the legal definition of voyeurism.
It’s a disappointing decision that comes on the heels of a Texas court ruling that states up-skirt photography is protected by freedom of expression.
[via NY Mag]
