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Well, sadly, the Tulsa District Court is playing right into Paul Tay's hands, again.
This genius nutcase will likely win a landmark ruling in his appeal. And he needs to appeal this, because the law is so horribly vague and arbitrary that it was used 50 years ago to keep black men from dating white women. Outraging public morals can hardly be established as a statutory marker when it is not specific. Paul tay kept his clothes on, and did not urinate or defecate in public, so that part is mute. What the courts are left with is his placard's solicitation, which carries an ambiguous double entendre (since he had a manikin body part affixed to his helmet.) Blame the legislature for not specifying sufficiently. Blame the legislature for not cleaning up old laws. Paul's a very irresponsible and bad example. But his antics require that we all do our job to make laws that we can actually defend. If you read the Walker Ruling of 1977, it's clear that the appellate courts have a real problem with how the legislature wrote this statute. http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=1187 |
Tulsa has always had a few whacky politicians like Paul Tay. Sadly, we usually play right into their schemes.
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Lori Fullbright has been the crime/courthouse reporter for Griffin Communication's KOTV-6 Tulsa station. Here's her coverage of the proceedings..
Section 22 might be labeled the 'catch-all' for any rude/crude behavior that the lawmakers didn't want stipulated in the legal code. But by whose standards should we establish an infraction? that's where this law can end up costing the state a lot of appellate resources.
Do we really want justice established by who can rent a mob of people who can feign hysterics just to have someone convicted? Last I studied the matter, this is how the Salem courts convicted and executed supposed witches?
Title 21. Crimes and Punishments
Chapter 2 - General Provisions Section 22 - Acts Resulting in Gross Injury - Misdemeanor Cite as: O.S. §, __ __ Every person who willfully and wrongfully commits any act which grossly injures the person or property of another, or which grossly disturbs the public peace or health, or which openly outrages public decency, including but not limited to urination in a public place, and is injurious to public morals, although no punishment is expressly prescribed therefor by this code, is guilty of a misdemeanor. |
The facts are, Paul Tay didn't violate an EXPRESSED STATUTE. So they applied the most flimsy statute in an attempt to save face.
Had they applied section 1021, he could have been clearly found guilty of a listed act. But that list is not exhaustive enough to meet the creative ability of Paul Tay's mischief. Maybe if the legislature spent less time on passing all the grandstanding & pandering bills, they'd get around to this issues. Here's the section where Paul Tay's misbehaviour could have been listed in the catalog of banned behavior....
Oklahoma Statutes Citationized
Title 21. Crimes and Punishments Chapter 39 Section 1021 - Indecent Exposure - Indecent Exhibitions - Obscene or Indecent Writings, Pictures, Etc. - Solicitation of Minors SupercededSupercededSuperceded Effective: 05/27/2003 Cite as: O.S. §, __ __ A. Every person who willfully either: 1. Lewdly exposes his person or genitals in any public place, or in any place where there are present other persons to be offended or annoyed thereby; 2. Procures, counsels, or assists any person to expose such person, or to make any other exhibition of such person to public view or to the view of any number of persons, for the purpose of sexual stimulation of the viewer; 3. Writes, composes, stereotypes, prints, photographs, designs, copies, draws, engraves, paints, molds, cuts, or otherwise prepares, publishes, sells, distributes, keeps for sale, or exhibits any obscene material or child pornography; or 4. Makes, prepares, cuts, sells, gives, loans, distributes, keeps for sale, or exhibits any disc record, metal, plastic, or wax, wire or tape recording, or any type of obscene material or child pornography, shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a felony and shall be punished by the imposition of a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) or by imprisonment for not less than thirty (30) days nor more than ten (10) years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. B. Every person who: 1. Willfully solicits or aids a minor child to perform; or 2. Shows, exhibits, loans, or distributes to a minor child any obscene material or child pornography for the purpose of inducing said minor to participate in, any act specified in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 or 4 of subsection A of this section shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in a state correctional institution for not less than ten (10) years nor more than thirty (30) years. C. Persons convicted under this section shall not be eligible for a deferred sentence. |
