State v. VanBuren
Vermont Supreme Court
210 Vt. 293, 214 A.3d 791 (2019)
- Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
Facts
A woman took nude photographs of herself and sent them to Anthony Coon via Facebook Messenger. Rebekah VanBuren (defendant), who described herself as Coon’s girlfriend, posted the photos on Coon’s Facebook page, tagging the woman. The woman called to ask Coon to take down the photos. VanBuren called back using Coon’s phone, called the woman names, and said she would ruin her and get revenge. VanBuren was charged with violating a new Vermont law that prohibits distributing nonconsensual pornography, known as revenge porn. VanBuren moved to dismiss, arguing that the revenge-porn statute unconstitutionally restricted free speech and that the woman had no reasonable expectation of privacy because she messaged the photos to Coon without any promise to keep them private. The trial court found the revenge-porn statute unconstitutional and dismissed. The prosecution appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Robinson, J.)
Dissent (Skoglund, J.)
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