Court rules man taking 'upskirt' photos didn't break the law

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has ruled a man arrested while using his cellphone to take "upskirt" photos and videos of women on a commuter train did not break the law.

Michael Robertson was arrested in 2010 by transit police.

They had set up surveillance after receiving several reports of a man annoying female riders by aiming his camera up their skirts.

But the law, as it currently reads, only protects people from photographs of them while "nude or partially nude" and in private areas like bathrooms or dressing rooms.

The women in Robertson's case were in a public place, and were fully clothed, so the court ruled the law did not apply.

In its opinion, the court wrote "a female passenger on a MBTA trolley who is wearing a skirt, dress, or the like covering these parts of her body is not a person who is 'partially nude,' no matter what is or is not underneath the skirt by way of underwear or other clothing."

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