No one believed me
Every now and then I manage to work into a conversation that women may appear topless in public anywhere in New York State. Why I do this, I don't know and I'd rather not explore that mindset right now. But seldom does anyone believe me. Now, I have proof!
Women take off tops to take on nudity lawYup, I feel vindicated. Now I have to find that news story that enlightened me to the right to be completely nude in public in San Francisco as long as a public disturbance is not caused. I may know everything but I can't remember it all at once.
Associated Press Sept. 19, 2005 02:10 PM
MORAVIA, N.Y. - Four women arrested in this Finger Lakes village after going topless on a downtown street last month say they didn't break any laws and want the charges against them dropped.
The women, each charged with exposure, are to appear Tuesday night in village court. If convicted of the violation they each face 15 days in jail and/or a $250 fine.
Charles Marangola, the attorney representing the women, said he's filed a motion to dismiss the case, maintaining that a 1992 state Court of Appeals decision allows women to go topless anywhere a man can.
"This thing should be dismissed outright," he said. "But if it isn't and these young ladies are found guilty at a trial ... if we have to go to the Court of Appeals, we will."
But Cayuga County Assistant District Attorney Charles Thomas said his office isn't convinced that the 1992 ruling gives blanket permission for women to go topless. Thomas said that in addition to the nudity violation, he'll argue that the women interfered with commerce.
The four women - Carol Clarke, 54, and Barbara Crumb, 61, both of Branchport; Claudia Kellersch, 40, of La Jolla, Calif.; and Madeleine McPherson, 40, of Rochester - were arrested Aug. 11 outside a grocery store in this village of 1,600 just south of Owasco Lake, 40 miles southwest of Syracuse.
Information from: The Syracuse Post-Standard: http://www.syracuse.com
