In the interests of discussing ground-breaking legal developments, have to share this story I saw the other day in the Chicago Sun-Times. A Montgomery County, Maryland judge recently ruled that the act of mooning[dropping one's pants and flashing one's buttocks]is not illegal. This landmark ruling grows out of an apparent on-going dispute between two Maryland neighbors, Raymond Hugh NcNealey and Nanette Vonfeldt. McNealey and Vonfeldt had a heated argument the night before the "incident". The following morning, as Vonfeldt walked out of her apartment, she ran into McNealey. Words were exchanged and then Nealey mooned Vonfeldt and her eight year old daughter. [Just a quick aside - what kind of loser moons a little girl?] McNealey was charged with indecent exposure and convicted.
McNealey appealed the conviction, arguing that the state law in issue prohibited the display of "private parts" but not the buttocks. His attorneys even cited a 1983 United States Supreme Court ruling holding that indecent exposure only related to a person's genitals. On appeal, Judge John W. Debelius III ruled that although McNealey's actions were "disgusting" and "demeaning", he wasn't guilty of indecent exposure and overruled the lower court. Interestingly, Debelius noted in his opinion that "If exposure of half of the buttock constituted indecent exposure, any woman wearing a thong at the beach at Ocean City would be guilty." True enough. But those young ladies are simply enjoying the beach. Sounds like McNealey was using his ass in an effort to show his disdain with Ms. Vonfeldt. So the key issue goes to the mooner's intent But I digress...The thing that really caught my eye about this piece was the quote from McNealey's attorney, James Maxwell, who noted the ruling should "...bring comfort to all beachgoers and plumbers" in the state of Maryland.
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