First Amendment nudity loses a round in court

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A family that wanted to swim and sunbathe naked together at a public beach lost a free-speech appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The court, without comment, declined to review a court decision that allowed authorities near Austin, Texas, to ban nudity for children in a lakeside park called Hippie Hollow, and prosecute adults who appeared naked in the presence of children there. The ban was intended to protect children from sexual predators.

Robert and Christine Morton and their three children describe themselves as naturists who have wholesome attitudes about the human body. Appearing naked as a family in public is essential to the naturist philosophy, the Mortons claim.

Their parental rights and their rights to free expression under the First Amendment were violated by a 1995 change in the rules for Hippie Hollow, the Mortons’ lawsuit said.

The Mortons asked the Supreme Court to consider whether the family’s right to express their values together should trump Travis County’s view that children under 18 should neither be displayed nude nor exposed to adult nudity.

In previous rulings, the high court has made it easier for cities to ban nudity in some instances, but also have found that nudity combined with some activity can be considered expression under the First Amendment.

Last year, the high court ruled that in the interest of reducing crime a city can require nude dancers to be less than nude, even though dancers claim pasties and a G-string restrict their freedom of expression.

The Lower Colorado River Authority, which owns the park, and Travis County, which leases and operates it, have said they want to keep children out of the park to protect them from sexual predators.

A midlevel state appellate court ruled against the Mortons and the Central Texas Nudists last year, and the state Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

The appeals court said nudity, including family nudity, was not unduly restricted by the park rules because the family could simply go somewhere else. Hippie Hollow, formally known as McGregor Park, did not change its rules allowing adults to go without clothing if they chose.