法律英语：88 Peeping Tom Laws

Hello, and welcome to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful¹ Life. I’m your host, Adam Freedman.

But first, your daily dose of legalese: This podcast does not create an attorney-client relationship with any listener. In other words, although I am a lawyer, I’m not your lawyer. In fact, we barely know each other. If you need personalized legal advice, contact an attorney in your community.

Is Being a Peeping Tom Illegal?

Today’s episode: Peeping Toms. Dan from New York City writes: “The other day I noticed a guy using binoculars² to look while my girlfriend was changing. Is this legal? Are the laws different for viewing with the naked eye vs. using binoculars?”

Great question, Dan! The short answer is that in some states you could press charges under so-called “Peeping Tom” laws, but you’re probably out of luck in New York.

As every New Yorker knows, neighbors are supposed to keep to themselves. When they get nosy³, it’s a major pain but, unfortunately, nosiness⁴ and even a certain degree of voyeurism⁵ may be legal unless your state or city has adopted a so-called Peeping Tom law.

What Are Peeping Tom Laws?

These laws get their name from the legend of Lady Godiva. As you no doubt recall, Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets of Coventry, England to protest high taxes. She asked the townspeople not to look at her in the nude⁶ but one man -- there’s always one -- a tailor named Tom, just couldn’t keep his eyes shut. The tailor, who became known as Peeping Tom, was struck blind, or dead depending on the version, the moment he saw her.

But anyway. Peeping Tom laws generally make it a crime to view and/or photograph or film a person without his or her consent. Peeping Tom statutes⁸ differ from state to state, but they usually require:

That the victim did not realize he or she was being viewed;
That the victim was fully⁹ or partially¹⁰ naked, and
That the viewing took place at a place where the victim had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
What is a “Reasonable Expectation of Privacy”?

“Reasonable expectation of privacy” is a term borrowed from constitutional law, which requires that the police obtain a search warrant if they wish to conduct a search in a place where you would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.   There’s no exact definition of “reasonable expectation of privacy” but basically, private homes, dressing¹¹ rooms, tanning booths, college dormitory rooms, and restrooms are the sorts of places protected. Public beaches, parks and swimming pools are not. So Dan, certainly you and your girlfriend ought to have a reasonable expectation of privacy in your apartment.

The Complexity¹² of Peeping Tom Laws

However, as you will have noticed, Peeping Tom laws also tend to have a number of other specific conditions, like nudity and lack of consent. The reason for these conditions is to allow the Peeping Tom laws to pass constitutional scrutiny¹³ from the courts. The Constitution requires that criminal statutes be sufficiently¹⁴ definite and clear so as to give citizens advance notice of the conduct that is prohibited. In 1976, the North Carolina Supreme¹⁵ Court struck down a Peeping Tom statute⁷ as being too vague. That law stated: “Any person who shall peep secretly into any room occupied by a female person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined or imprisoned¹⁶ in the discretion¹⁷ of the court.” That decision and others like it led state legislatures to draft more exacting¹⁸ privacy laws.

One of the conditions adopted by New York and other states is that a Peeping Tom must be using a camera, videocam, or some other device to record a visual image of the victim. Mere¹⁹ looking doesn’t suffice to violate New York’s law.   A couple of years ago, a New York City Council member introduced a more stringent²⁰ anti-voyeurism law, but so far it hasn’t gone anywhere. Having said that, Dan if you have any evidence that your neighbor has a hostile intent (versus just looking) you should of course report your suspicions to the police.

There are some states, such as Missouri, where the Peeping Tom law prohibits any secret viewing of a person without their consent, regardless of whether the perpetrator is using a camera, binoculars, or just the naked eye, so to speak.

Living in close quarters and the lack of a strong Peeping Tom law are disadvantages to living in Gotham. But Dan, as a fellow New Yorker, I wouldn’t urge you to leave the city. For the time being, just do like the rest of us, and pull down the shade.

You can send questions and comments to。。。。。。or call them in to the voicemail line at 206-202-4LAW.  Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.

 

1 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

2 binoculars   

n.双筒望远镜

参考例句：

• He watched the play through his binoculars.他用双筒望远镜看戏。
• If I had binoculars,I could see that comet clearly.如果我有望远镜，我就可以清楚地看见那颗彗星。

3 nosy   

adj.鼻子大的，好管闲事的，爱追问的；n.大鼻者

参考例句：

• Our nosy neighbours are always looking in through our windows.好管闲事的邻居总是从我们的窗口望进来。
• My landlord is so nosy.He comes by twice a month to inspect my apartment.我的房东很烦人，他每个月都要到我公寓视察两次。

4 nosiness   

好打听，爱管闲事

参考例句：

• I am sure I will see a lot of nosiness crawling in your stomach! 那么我一定会看到很多“八卦”在你的肚子里爬来爬去！
• I do not want to be mean to anybody, but his nosiness is really exasperating. 我并不想对任何人耍脾气，但他这么好打听真叫人恼火。

5 voyeurism   

n.窥阴癖者

参考例句：

• Portraiture merges here with voyeurism and surveillance. 肖像拍摄中夹杂着偷窥和监视。 来自互联网
• And while Wife Swap was pure voyeurism, Boss Swap hints at some real issues. 《换妻》纯粹反映了一种偷窥心理，而《互换老板》则影射了一些真实的问题。 来自互联网

6 nude   

adj.裸体的；n.裸体者，裸体艺术品

参考例句：

• It's a painting of the Duchess of Alba in the nude.这是一幅阿尔巴公爵夫人的裸体肖像画。
• She doesn't like nude swimming.她不喜欢裸泳。

7 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

8 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

11 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

12 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

13 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

14 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

15 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

16 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

17 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

18 exacting   

adj.苛求的，要求严格的

参考例句：

• He must remember the letters and symbols with exacting precision.他必须以严格的精度记住每个字母和符号。
• The public has been more exacting in its demands as time has passed.随着时间的推移，公众的要求更趋严格。

19 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

20 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。