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29 Colum. J.L. & Soc. Probs. 85 (1995-1996)
Revealing the Bare Uncertainties of Indecent Exposure

handle is hein.journals/collsp29 and id is 95 raw text is: Revealing the Bare. Uncertainties of Indecent Exposure JEFFREY C. NARVIL* I. INTRODUCTION The trouble with these men who try to adjudicate upon what is moral or immoral in dress is that they really know nothing about the subject.' Envision a lone camper deep in the heart of a vast wilderness, eager to bathe in the rushing river before her. Imagine an urban apartment dweller dressing frantically for an evening of theater, in his haste forgetting to pull down the window shade. Picture a family of four enjoying sand and surf on a beach where nudity has long been tolerated. Lastly, consider the plight of an avid Halloween celebrant eager to don the costume of the Hindu god Shankara - a layer of ash covering an otherwise naked body.2 What guidance on potential prosecution for these acts would the people in these four examples glean from consulting local or state criminal statutes? The conduct in the examples presented above is not calculated to annoy, shock or embarrass the public - intentions against which indecent exposure statutes have traditionally sought to protect.3 Thus, the applicability of these statutes and their judicial interpretation is not clear.4 While some * Administrative Editor, Colum. J.L. & Soc. Probs., 1995-96. The Author would like to thank his wife Ushma Narvil for her unwavering support, and to express his gratitude to Brad Finkelstein and Elai Katz for their assistance in the production of this Article. 1. George Bernard Shaw as quoted in Dennis C. Smith, The Naked Child: The Long- Range Effects of Family and Social Nudity 83 (1981). 2. Cornelia Dimmitt & J.A.B. van Buitenen, Classical Hindu Mythology 203 (1978). 3. Duvallon v. District of Columbia, 515 A.2d 724, 729 (D.C. 1986) (Pryor, C.J., dissenting). 4. For example, modern courts have interpreted nude sunbathing in quite different ways. Compare State v. Bull, 597 P.2d 10 (Haw. 1979) (sunbathing in the nude in a public place where the sunbather is likely to be observed by others who would be affronted or alarmed is a lewd act) with People v. Gilbert, 338 N.Y.S.2d 457 (N.Y. Crim. Ct. 1972)

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