My favorite story this week is this report about a proposed ordinance in East Laurinburg. The ordinance "would charge people with indecent exposure if the top of their pants or skirt hangs 3 inches or more below the waistline." Folks on both sides seems to have put some thought into one-liners about the ordinance, with the legal director of the state ACLU asking "do we want the police to be the fashion police?" and the town's mayor claiming "I wear baggy pants myself, but I wear a belt with them." The ACLU claims that similar laws have been struck down on constitutional grounds in other jurisdictions. I don't know much about the doctrines involved, but the whole thing puts me in mind of a remark my wife's grandmother made recently about tattoos: "I think they should be illegal. They serve no purpose except to embarrass parents." I don't agree with her about tattoos, but I'm not so sure about low-riding pants. In other news: 1. Former court of appeals judge Joe John will be the interim director of the SBI lab and will lead a review of the lab's reporting policies, according to the News and Observer. The newspaper also reported this week about some of the individuals involved in preparing and reviewing the agency's reporting policies. 2. According to this press release, "[t]wo federally-funded MUSC studies on South Carolina's sex offender registration and notification system and its effect on community safety revealed that prosecutors often pursue non-sexual charges or fail to [...]
Faculty Coordinators
