Post by KC on Jan 15, 2006 14:35:14 GMT -5
LANSING, Mich., Jan. 13 -- Michigan's Supreme Court Friday let stand the indecent exposure conviction of a man who used his penis as a character on his cable access TV show.
Viewer complaints led prosecutors to file the charge against Timothy Huffman for a 2000 show broadcast over a Grand Rapids, Mich., public access channel. During the show, Huffman used his penis as a stand-up comic.
He appealed his conviction to the state's highest court, claiming his right to free speech had been violated.
However, the Supreme Court issued a three-sentence ruling saying justices were "not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court," the Detroit Free Press reported.
After Michigan's Court of Appeals earlier upheld the verdict, Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Tim McMorrow told the Free Press: "This is really not a First Amendment case. The First Amendment protects his right to an opinion, not the right to appear naked on TV."
Viewer complaints led prosecutors to file the charge against Timothy Huffman for a 2000 show broadcast over a Grand Rapids, Mich., public access channel. During the show, Huffman used his penis as a stand-up comic.
He appealed his conviction to the state's highest court, claiming his right to free speech had been violated.
However, the Supreme Court issued a three-sentence ruling saying justices were "not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court," the Detroit Free Press reported.
After Michigan's Court of Appeals earlier upheld the verdict, Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Tim McMorrow told the Free Press: "This is really not a First Amendment case. The First Amendment protects his right to an opinion, not the right to appear naked on TV."