Houston, TX -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/25/2014 --In a mind-boggling move that left many questioning the sanity of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the Texas’ highest court ruled it legal to take upskirt photos of women and children. This shocking ruling has left many parents and women outraged.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled court reached an 8 to 1 decision on September 17, 2014. Members from the fourth court of criminal appeals in Bexar County who assented were: Womack, Johnson, Price, Keasler, Hervey, Cochran, and Alcala, J.J. The only dissenting member was Meyers, J.

Charles Thompson was facing 26 counts of “improper photography or visual recording” when, in a surprise move, his defense attorney filed a motion to drop the claiming they were a violation of his first amendment rights. A writ of habeas corpus was filed and the fourth court of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to hear Thompson’s appeal and eventually drop the charges. Read more about writs of habeas corpus here: http://www.hillcriminaldefense.com/cases/appealspost-convictioninnocence-claims/

The fourth court of criminal appeals ruled“that photographs and visual recordings are inherently expressive…”, making the photographs Thompson took a personal expression of free speech or artistic interpretation. Therefore his charges were dropped to protect his first amendment freedom of speech rights.

Thompson allegedly took 73 pictures of women and children at a Texas water park that were specifically aimed at the buttocks and breast area. His case never even made it to trial before the charges were appealed and dropped.

Many critics claim the decision by the Texas Court maid broad generalizations regarding the intricacies of the first amendment. Now creepy guys in Texas have a legal right to take pictures up women’s skirts, because according to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals it is an “inherently expressive” first amendment right.