Legal News

Nudists sue state

By Jason Siegel

People filed a lawsuit against the state for the right to be naked at a San Diego County beach.

The Naturist Action Committee filed the lawsuit at Orange County Superior Court on Wednesday, claiming that State Department of Parks and Recreation should have sought public comment before banning nudity at the Trail 6 in San Onofre State Beach after Labor Day.

People have been allowed to be nude at the the trail, known naturists worldwide, since 1973, the Los Angeles Times reported.

State parks officials told various newspapers that the ban came after complaints by beachgoers, that they reached out and followed the rules.

"We have a perfectly legal right to go back and rescind our own policy without a public hearing, public input, without any kind of a public meeting process," State Parks spokesperson Roy Stearns told the O.C. Register.

Huntington beach attorney Allen Baylis, a board member of the Naturist Action Committee, is spearheading the legal effort, the O.C. Register reported.

A hearing is set for Aug. 20.

"Nudists sue state over crackdown at beach," Orange County Register
"Activists sue California over plan to ban nudity at San Onofre Beach," Los Angeles Times
"Nudists File Suit To Have Right To Drop Swimsuits," Associated Press

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on July 11, 2008 (boomark / email).