A Massachusetts court ruled this week that "upskirting," is not banned under state law.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court stated on Wednesday that a piece of legislation banning the practice of shooting photos up womens' skirts didn't apply to those who snap pictures of fully clothed citizens.
The high court's decision involves a "Peeping Tom" - one man who allegedly took photos of women on Green Line trolley cars without their consent, the Boston Globe reported. In their unanimous ruling, the justices zeroed in on rhetoric used in the legislation.
The law reads that any covert photography of "a person...who is partially nude," is illegal, and this, Justice Margot Botsford wrote in her ruling, rendered the Peeping Tom exempt from harsh repercussions.
"A female passenger on a MBTA trolley who is wearing a skirt, dress or the like covering [private] parts of her body is not a person who is 'partially nude' no matter what is or is not underneath the skirt by way of underwear or other clothing," Botsford wrote.
The unidentified man who was accused of photographing random women reportedly took a photo under the dress of an undercover officer with the MBTA Police between Government Center and Park Street stations, the Boston Globe reported.
Prosecutors argued that citizens have the right to keep what's underneath their clothes private.
"We will urge the legislature to rewrite the current statute to grant that right," a Suffolk County District Attorney spokesperson told WCVB.
This isn't the first time "upskirting" laws have come under the microscope - a Nebraska lawmaker tried in February to make Peeping Tom voyeurisms a criminal offense.
Lincoln Senator Amanda McGill first introduced the bill, which would make any person caught filming, photographing or broadcasting the image of a non-consenting citizen subject to misdemeanor charges.
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