Massachusetts Court Says Gross 'Upskirt' Pics Are Legal

Apparently there is no expectation of privacy up your skirt in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts high court ruled Wednesday that "upskirt" pictures are not illegal.(Photo credit: Shutterstock)

The state's highest court ruled Wednesday that it is not illegal to secretly photograph underneath a person's clothing — a practice commonly dubbed "upskirting" — and now one prosecutor is calling for a revision of state law, the Boston Herald reported.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled the practice does not violate the law — a so-called "peeping Tom" law written 10 years ago — because the women who were photographed while riding Boston public transportation were not nude or partially nude.

The current state law prohibits photographing an unsuspecting nude or partially nude person “is concerned with proscribing peeping Tom voyeurism of people who are completely or partially undressed and, in particular, such voyeurism enhanced by electronic devices,” the court ruled.

The decision was promoted by the criminal case of Michael S. Robertson, 32, who was charged with taking cell phone photos of women on public transportation buses and faced more than two years in jail had he been convicted.

“We believed that the statute criminalized upskirt photography, but since the SJC found otherwise we are urging legislators to act with all due haste in rewriting this statute in protecting commuters’ privacy,” Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said. “Everyone — man or woman — should have a right to privacy beneath their own clothes."

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said he wants to see the law changed as soon as possible. (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

Conley said upskirting is "repulsive behavior" and he's pushing to see the law changed as soon as possible.

The justices seemed to agree that the law should be changed, including these comments in their brief, CNN reported:

"At the core of the Commonwealth's argument ... is the proposition is that a woman, and in particular a woman riding on a public trolley, has a reasonable expectation of privacy in not having a stranger secretly take photographs up her skirt. The proposition is eminently reasonable, but in it's current form, does not address it."

Watch the CBS Boston report here:

(H/T: Boston Herald)

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