Ever been tagged in an embarrassing Facebook pic? In the UK you might just have a legal leg to stand on to stop those pictures from ever being taken. One 28-year-old mailman was just fined $200 for snapping what the judge deemed an "unchivalrous" photo of a woman. . . . decorating the gutter outside of a bar. The woman's friends called the police after the man took the picture and he was charged with breach of the peace.
The judge says of the fine levied, "I'm going to impose a fine to remind him chivalry is not dead and when somebody is in distress you leave them to it." His lawyer says he regrets the "error of judgment." Of snapping the puking pic his lawyer says, "It was ill-judged, it was a spontaneous act and entirely inappropriate. He accepts it was conduct liable to cause upset and did in fact cause upset. It's been a matter of severe regret for him. He's extremely anxious and very contrite about the affair."
Miss Sixty
Jil Sander
Rag and Bone
Are you kidding me? People can't get pissed that someone caught them behaving badly.
1That's ridiculous. Puke in public, deal with the consequences.
2mondaymoos: you said it.
3I'd be embarrassed to be either party
4I love the sound of the charge "breach of the peace"
5Why would you want a picture of someone puking?
6To put it on facebook, of course.
7Jude C, I completely agree with you! Poor judgement on both their parts.
8I agree that taking a picture of someone in a less than positive position is unchivalrous, but since when did behaving unchivalrous become against the law? How can we be a free society when we inhibit what actions that aren't detrimental to society are allowed?
9The bottom line for me is that someone was suffering, for whatever reason, real or imagined, and some asshat chose to make a profit from it, whether for financial or psychological gains. Either option is sick, in my opinion. I wish the judge had been more harsh.
10Undave- well, what do you think our law, especially tort law is based on? Oh right, the 10 commandments, and there is nothing about being chivalrous there!
I think the fine was too much, though it probably is their minimum or something, but it would be cool if the fine went directly to the woman, and barred her from any sort of suit under tort law. That would be a good step towards tort reform, while still compensating the victim. Anyway, I don't know very much about tort law in Britain right now, or if it even needs reforming since they don't have an adversary legal system, this is just what happens when I get drunk and post!
11"I'd be embarrassed to be either party"
Jude, exactly. Why would you want a picture of that? And why would you press charges against someone while you are vomiting? Do they have public intoxication laws there?
12Chivalry aside, you really shouldn't publish photos of people without their consent. Not sure what the laws in England are for that. So for that reason alone I think he deserved a fine. (again not sure what the laws are there for that).
13Jude I agree w/ you too!
14Its perhaps a tacky photo but if someone doesn't want to be photographed in public acting like a doughnut, then perhaps one should avoid being in those circumstances in the first place.
When I lived in the UK one thing I really tired of was the constant barrage of noisy, drunken packs of people who were, at best, really loud below your window at 3am - and at worst, belligerent and violent.
15I agree with mondaymoos and Jude.
16It's silly what law makers will fine people for.
I didn't see in the story, and may have missed it. Was the girl fined as well? Was she actually just sick, or was she drunk?
17i think that in today's society...taking pictures of people is common place and i'm probably one of the few people that hates having camera phones cause i think that they are intrusive, but i guess if the technonlogy is there..then you can't really fault people for doing it. i'm happy to hear that someone took action against someone photographing them, but i'm not sure that it would really 'hold water' in most cases.
18The whole of the UK is on CCTV and they're complaining about a private citizen taking some pictures? Or was the complaint with the way he used the pictures?
19GS, your new avatar is hilarious! Love it
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