There are some reports that Giuliani is distributing a video of Hunter Biden smoking crack and having sex. I think this may pose some problems under Delaware's revenge porn statute. /1
The statute makes it a misdemeanor to distribute images of someone engaging in sexual conduct without their consent if they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

I haven't viewed the video, so I don't know if Biden had that expectation, but this does seem nonconsensual. /2
The statute suggests some aggravating factors that are present here, such as including the identity of the person filmed, distributing to "annoy" that person, and possibly that the images are distributed for "profit."
With those aggravating factors, the crime is potentially a felony, punishable by up to two years in prison.
But Giuliani has at least one excellent defense, baked into the statute, that he disseminated the video for a "legitimate public purpose." But he'd have to establish that to a jury.
He also has an excellent constitutional defense--that this revenge porn law acts as prior restraint for speech that does not fall into any of the categories held unprotected at the time of the Founding. Nude images, even taken without consent, are not obscenity.
For my part, I think the law is unconstitutional and should be struck down. But it is interesting that Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor, may have advised a private citizen to break this Delaware law, and may have himself been a party.
Here's the statute I'm referencing:

codes.findlaw.com/de/title-11-cr…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Andrew Fleischman

Andrew Fleischman Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @ASFleischman

16 Oct
Melania Trump has "written" an editorial defending her decision to have the US Government enforce her private non-disclosure agreement. Image
She accuses her assistant, who recorded her saying she did not care about detained children taken from their parents, of not caring for others. Image
Melania argues that the media has unfairly chosen not to focus on her positive work. Image
Read 7 tweets
16 Oct
Dear God whenever 538 strays from sports or polling it is just a disaster and the legacy continues: Image
ONE IN SEVEN CHILDREN who run away from home are "likely victims of child sex trafficking" 538? REALLY? That would be 120,000 children a year. Image
You're a statistics and polling website, and you decide to run an article with EXACTLY ONE STATISTIC and you do NO WORK to ensure that it's accurate.
Read 6 tweets
14 Oct
I feel like I could make some brave new law on standing if I sued for an injunction requiring judges to wear flannel pajamas and terrycloth robes for zoom proceedings
"But Mr. Fleischman how are you injured by black robes?"

"Your honor the word coziness does not appear in the Constitution but a semantic analysis of the Federalist papers reveals..."
"The Tennessee Supreme Court says you win!"

"Seems weird I sued in South Carolina ..."
Read 4 tweets
13 Oct
It certainly might SEEM crazy that the governor of a state can arbitrarily limit access to ballot boxes based on vague, poorly articulated security concerns. It might seem like a lot of last-minute election changes geared at suppressing turnout are, in fact, corrupt. But really/1
Sorry, Twitter has ordered that all reasonable explanation for the actions of a government official must be contained in one tweet. /2
Here's the opinion, which was visited, rather generously, by the Italics fairy

ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/2…
Read 13 tweets
12 Oct
Ok, so this should be the model for arguing against Barrett's confirmation.

gfile.thedispatch.com/p/should-is-fo…
Notice that @JonahDispatch does not argue that Barrett is crazy or stupid or bad. Instead he acknowledges the truth that she will likely make a big difference on the Court, and she is being appointed, along partisan lines, at the last minute.
Here's a model of the other way you can be an effective advocate: by actually talking about Barrett's record as a judge.

currentaffairs.org/2020/09/why-am…
Read 4 tweets
7 Oct
Because news outlets are not always great at this, here is Sidney Powell's recusal motion.

courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Sidney Powell alleges that Judge Flynn should be recused because he said unflattering things about her client while he was sentencing him for a felony.

She alleges that he said these things because of Rachel Maddow, and not because of the facts before him.
Considering an amicus brief? That's a recusaling.
Read 29 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!