Woman ticketed for going topless at Chicago event files civil rights suit against city
Ticketed in August for indecent exposure at a lakefront women’s rights event in Chicago, despite opaque body paint on her breasts, a woman has filed a civil rights suit against the city.
Plaintiff Sonoko Tagami says a city ordinance banning women from going topless is unconstitutional because it violates the right of free speech, is unduly vague and doesn’t apply equally to men, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Tagami’s lawyer, Kenneth Flaxman, says the ordinance, although loosely enforced, could apply widely to women in skimpy attire and needs to be revised.
“There is a lot of clothing that women wear that is illegal under this law,” he told the Tribune.
Tagami was fined $100, plus $40 in costs, by an administrative law judge last month and has moved to California, he said.
An October press release by GoTopless says the judge was dubious about whether Tagami had committed an offense but fined her so that she could pursue a constitutional challenge to the law.
The Tribune article doesn’t include any comment from the city about the lawsuit Tagami filed in federal court on Wednesday. However, an apparent YouTube video of Tagami being ticketed in August shows that a Chicago police officer warned Tagami she could be arrested if she didn’t cover her breasts and then ticketed her for not doing so.
The August lakefront event was promoting a woman’s right to go topless in public.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Something unusual occurred when Holly Van Voast took off her shirt this spring: She wasn’t arrested”
ABAJournal.com: “Topless female photographer settles NYPD civil rights suit for $40,000”
ABAJournal.com: “Oregon Biker Beats Rap for Naked Ride; ‘Symbolic Protest’ is Protected, Judge Says”
