Full Moon Over Maryland

You would expect this from California, but from the oh-so-proper elitists of the great state of Maryland?

Acquitting a Germantown man who exposed his buttocks during an argument with a neighbor, a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge ruled yesterday that mooning, while distasteful, is not illegal in Maryland.

Of course, the officiating appeals judge does make a good point:

"If exposure of half of the buttock constituted indecent exposure, any woman wearing a thong at the beach at Ocean City would be guilty," Judge John W. Debelius III said after the bench trial...

But prosecutors countered with a good argument of their own:

"In our minds, this was not a bathing suit scenario," said Barnett, who supervises Montgomery County prosecutors who handle cases in District Court. "This was a grown man exposing himself to an 8-year-old girl."

An excellent point, and one that should have taken precedence in this case. We really should be outraged at this verdict. But I can't help but laugh at the defense attorney's closing statement.

James Maxwell, one of McNealy's attorneys, said yesterday's ruling should "bring comfort to all beachgoers and plumbers" in the state.