Court rules against woman charged after stepchildren saw her topless – By Associated Press (The Guardian) / Jan 21 2020
Utah judge refuses to overturn lewdness measure in case of Tilli Buchanan, who removed her top while hanging drywall
A judge refused to overturn part of Utah’s lewdness law on Tuesday in a blow to a woman who is fighting criminal charges after her stepchildren saw her topless in her own home.
Judge Kara Pettit sided with prosecutors who argued that lewdness is commonly understood to include women’s breasts in American society, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Judges should not second-guess what lawmakers have decided is lewd conduct, she wrote.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Tilli Buchanan would appeal the ruling. If she does not, her misdemeanor charges would move toward trial. If convicted, she could face jail time and be forced to register as a sex offender for 10 years.
Buchanan and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah had pointed to a court ruling that overturned a topless ban in Colorado and helped fuel a movement. They said Utah’s law on lewdness involving a child was unfair because it treated men and women differently for baring their chests.
A global movement advocating for the rights of women to go topless, called the Free the Nipple campaign, has seen mixed success fighting similar ordinances in other parts of the country.
The 10th US circuit court of appeals has upheld a ruling that blocked a ban in Fort Collins, Colorado, on women going topless in public.
Continue to article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/21/utah-woman-topless-stepchildren-tilli-buchanan
