Source: AP
By:
(MADISON, WI) — The state Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a man who videotaped his ex-girlfriend without her knowledge while she undressed, saying the law under which he was prosecuted is unconstitutional.
While the 4-year-old law properly prohibited the videotaping, it also “improperly prohibits all visual expression of nudity without explicit consent, including political satire and newsworthy images,” Justice Ann Walsh Bradley wrote in the 5-2 majority opinion.
For example, the opinion said, photographs of Michelangelo’s ‘David’ would be barred from a book about famous sculptures.
Scott L. Stevenson was arrested in 1997 after videotaping his ex-girlfriend through her window while he was perched on the roof of her house. He was arrested in an alley after being chased by police and the camera and video were recovered the next day.
Stevenson had pleaded no contest to two charges of violating the nudity consent law.
Jim Haney, a spokesman for Attorney General James Doyle, said his office would work with the Legislature to “fix that statute to make it constitutional.”
