Scrambling To Close Voyeur Loophole

A state Supreme Court's ruling that taking pictures up a woman's skirt in a public place isn't illegal has prompted a flurry of bills aimed at closing the loophole in Washington state's voyeurism law.

"When something so egregious happens that just enrages the public, they have to know that there is a way that representative government immediately takes care of the problem," said Democratic Chairwoman Pat Lantz. "We had a bad situation but (the public) is not helpless — they are very much empowered."

Sen. Pam Roach and Rep. Joyce McDonald have also filed bills on the subject.

Last year, the state's highest court ruled the voyeurism law didn't address "up-skirt" photography in public places. The justices rejected prosecutors' arguments that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy under their clothing.

The law bans photographing people in places where they could reasonably expect privacy, such as a bathroom or dressing room.

Lantz's bill adds a section specifically outlawing videotaping or photographing "under or through" another person's clothing without consent.

The bill also distinguishes between first- and second-degree voyeurism.

First-degree voyeurism would be a class C felony and cover those who commit the offense in a private place such as the victim's house. Second-degree voyeurism, a gross misdemeanor, would apply to public places.

The distinction is important, said Lantz, who drafted Washington's original voyeurism law in 1998.

"If you're in a public place, it's quite different than finding somebody in your bedroom," Lantz said. "So there needs to be a differentiation."

Currently, only a handful of states have specific video voyeurism laws in place, said Robert Ellis Smith, publisher of Privacy Journal, a monthly publication dedicated to privacy issues.

Most current laws focus on violations that occur in private places, not in a public place like an escalator at the local mall.

California amended its voyeurism law in 2000 following a 1998 incident in which a 23-year-old man was caught holding a camera bag with a hidden video camera to look up women's skirts at Disneyland. The state's law considers it a misdemeanor to secretly photograph under people's clothing without their consent for the purpose of sexual gratification.

by Kristen Gelineau