Courts block man from arguing he had free-speech right to expose himself

By The Associated Press

01.11.03

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Editor's note: The Associated Press reported that Tim Huffman was sentenced on Feb. 19 to a year of probation after being convicted in January of indecent exposure. Huffman said he would appeal the verdict. Judge J. Michael Christensen ordered him to pay fines and court costs totaling $1,225. The charge carries a maximum punishment of up to a year in jail.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A man who exposed himself during a skit on his public-access cable TV show has been convicted of indecent exposure, after local courts prohibited him from arguing that his parody performance should be constitutionally protected free speech.

Timothy Huffman's court-appointed defense lawyer called it "a rigged case" and vowed to appeal the verdict, which was rendered Jan. 7 in Grand Rapids District Court.

Others, such as Peter Hopkins, a Washington lawyer associated with Alliance for Communications Democracy, an advocacy group for public-access television, said the case could resonate as far as Hollywood.

"If this man was properly convicted, why not go out and convict very large numbers of other actors that appear on cable television?" he asked. "How do you draw a meaningful distinction between what this person has done and lots of other things you see on cable TV?"

The one-man, five-woman jury deliberated 30 minutes before convicting Huffman, 43, of the misdemeanor crime. The conviction carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $500 fine.

"He wanted public exposure and he's getting it," Monica Gall, an assistant prosecutor for Kent County, told jurors Jan. 7 before they deliberated.

The indecent exposure charge was based on the complaint of an East Grand Rapids woman who said she was offended by what she saw while channel surfing late one night in April 2001. Huffman was not charged with obscenity because his skit wasn't sexually provocative.

Huffman's half-hour show, "Tim's Area of Control," aired on Grand Rapids Public Access Television and opened with him warning viewers to change the channel if easily offended.

During the program, Huffman played numerous foul-mouthed characters in a series of solo skits. Many were mock commercials for phony products, The Grand Rapids Press reported on Jan. 8.

The final skit consisted of a full-screen close-up of a man's genitals displayed in front of a drape that covered the rest of his body. A face was drawn on the organ and a gruff voice told jokes as though it was speaking.

Besides being shown in court on Jan.7, the program was broadcast six times over an 18-month period on GRTV before Maria Allen complained to a friend at the Kent County prosecutor's office.

Prosecutor William Forsyth said the conviction was justified because GRTV is available on basic cable and the public has come to believe it has the same restrictions as commercial TV.

He said the purchase of premium or pay-per-view cable services implies acceptance of racier standards.

"Mr. Huffman has the right to say on his show what he said even if I might disagree with him or think it just wasn't very good, but you can't stand naked spouting off and claim all of your behavior is protected by the First Amendment," Forsyth said.

Stephan Savickas, Huffman's court-appointed attorney, said he expected to lose in District Court — just as he expects to win on appeal.

"My client was charged more than two years ago, and I have watched judges in this town eliminate every possible defense he could present," Savickas said. "This was a rigged case for what basically became a directed verdict for the prosecution."

James Horwood, a director of the Alliance for Communications Democracy, said his group and other national organizations would support Huffman's appeal.

"If I was the producer of 'NYPD Blue,' I certainly would be worried about this ruling and how it might embolden some other prosecutor somewhere who wants to become a hero to a certain element in his town," Horwood said.

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