[Leica] Off topic ? important court ruling

[Disfromage <Disfromage@aol.com>]

Friday's New York Times reported- "News photographers in Quebec who take
pictures of ordinary people outdoors violate their subjects right to privacy,
the Canadian Supreme Court ruled today (April 9).  Its decision could have a
chilling effect on the press.
	The case centered on a photographer who snapped a shot of a teenage girl
relaxing on the steps of a building on a Montreal street 10 years ago.
	The now defunct magazine Vice-Versa published the picture in an essay of life
in cities like Montreal and Vancouver, and the subject Pascale-Claude Aubry,
sued because she said her classmates laughed at her at the time.
	"In our view, the artistic expression of the photograph, which was used to
illustrate contemporary urban life, cannot justify the infringement of the
right to privacy it entails." the court said in a 5-2 decision.
	Gilbert Duclos, the photographer, said, "For me, the street is a public
place."  He said the judges "seem to think that when you are walking in the
street you are in a private bubble.""
	Sorry to make this so long, but I thought the article said it better than I
could. This obviously is an important issue. This strikes me as a sad day for
our friends in Canada.  Where do we go from here?