Privacy-violating upskirt creep gets conviction OVERTURNED

[LJ_Reloaded]

http://www.dailydot.com/irl/georgia-upskirt-photos-ruling/

Georgia Court of Appeals rules upskirt photos not a crime

The Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled that upskirt photos are considered legal in the state, thereby throwing out a felony conviction for one Brandon Lee Gary, who faced a charge of invasion of privacy in 2013. Gary, who was working at a Publix supermarket at the time, was caught by a shopper as he bent down near her to snap photos and video of her crotch.

The woman initially thought he was tying his shoe, until she caught him with his cellphone out while she was shopping in another aisle. Gary was convicted and sentenced to five years probation. His lawyer appealed simply because no legislation covers such an act.

Following his conviction being overturned, public defender Michael Rivera had this to say about Gary: “While what Mr. Gary did was objectionable, there’s not a law on the books that outlaws this specific act. This case is a testament to the Court of Appeals interpreting a law the way it was written and not engaging in judicial intervention.”

This logic makes up the backbone of the court supporting the appeal. In explaining that invasion of privacy laws simply didn’t extend to such technological violations, Judge Elizabeth Branch called the decision to overturn the conviction “regrettable.”

There MUST be a time machine somewhere in Georgia's appeals courthouse. How else did we get a fossil from far enough back in time to issue this bullshit ruling? The most generous analysis I can come up with is that these courts sure are fickle as fuck about when they will engage in judicial activism and benchside legislation.

Meanwhile, forget waiting for Georgia's legislature to act, it's time for the Federal government to fix this loophole for all states.