AUSTIN, Texas – The top Texas criminal appeals court has overturned a state law that bans photos or videos taken in public without consent for the purpose of sexual gratification.
"I feel like my justice system has failed me," said New Braunfels resident Halie Powell, a victim of up-skirting.
In an 8-1 vote, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the decision of an intermediate state appeals court and ruled that the state ban on "improper photography" violated First Amendment free-speech rights.
"I believe in freedom of speech, but I believe somebody's freedom of speech should end when their hand goes up my dress. What about my rights?" said Powell.
Powell still remembers the incident like it was yesterday.
"I was shopping and all of a sudden I felt someone touching my upper thighs. I turn around and there's a man on the ground with a camera taking a video of me," Powell said.
According to Powell, he was found to have more than 50 other videos and pictures of women.
The court majority found that anyone who appears in public surrenders protection from being the object of sexual fantasies.
However, the 38-page ruling filed Wednesday does not invalidate the state ban on secret photography of persons in bathrooms or private dressing rooms, where a person is presumed to have privacy.
"I'm not stopping now just because I've been told no and the law's unconstitutional. I'm going to find something else to peg him for," said Powell.
The ruling comes in the case of Ronald Thompson, who had been awaiting trial on 26 counts of improper photography.