Sunday, September 03, 2006

"Oh wouldn't it be nice?'

Jennifer Aniston and a photographer have settled a lawsuit regarding topless photos shot of the actress late last year.
The 37-year-old actress sued Peter Brandt in December 2005, claiming he invaded her privacy by using a telephoto lens to photograph her inside her home when she was topless or partly dressed.
She alleged that Brandt used "invasive, intrusive and unlawful measures" to capture the images. Brandt said he took the photos while standing on a public street about 300 yards away from Aniston's home.
As I have said in the past, most of the legal stupidity in the US starts in California. In saner parts of the country, this pervert would have been prosecuted under CRIMINAL statutes, like "peeping tom" or voyeurism laws. It's generally a misdemeanor, but enough convictions could ramp it up to felonyor habitual offender or even sexual predator status and maybe the paparrazi would take notice. To quoute the Beach Boys "Oh wouldn't it be nice?"