‘Revenge porn’ law goes before Texas’ top criminal court

Hollie Toups, 32, said she got 'Let it be' tattooed on her arm after finding her picture on a revenge porn website. Photo taken Friday, January 18, 2013 Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise Hollie Toups, 32, said she got 'Let it be' tattooed on her arm after finding her picture on a revenge porn website. Photo taken Friday, January 18, 2013 Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER / Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER / Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close ‘Revenge porn’ law goes before Texas’ top criminal court 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — The state’s highest criminal court has agreed to decide the constitutionality of Texas’ so-called “revenge porn law” in a legal battle pitting free speech against expectations of privacy when sharing nude or explicit photos the subject expected would stay private.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals announced Wednesday it would take the case challenging the 2015 “Relationship Privacy Act.” The case involves Jordan Bartlett Jones, a man accused of intentionally disclosing an explicit photo of a woman and her identity.

His lawyer, First Amendment attorney Mark Bennett, of Houston, has argued that while sharing the photo can be “pretty obnoxious stuff,” the image qualifies as speech protected by the U.S. Constitution. Texas’ 12th Court of Appeals ruled in his favor, deciding in April the law is “extremely broad” and applies to anyone who shares the visual material regardless of whether a person knows the circumstances of its creation.

MORE: Texas ‘revenge porn’ law struck down by state appeals court

The state appealed the decision to the high court to defend the law ,which was passed largely to protect women from partners who may lash out at them after a breakup by sharing photos or video taken in confidence.

Violation of the law was originally a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and up to $4,000 in fines. Lawmakers have upgraded the crime a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in a state jail and up to a $10,000 fine.

Andrea Zelinski is a staff writer who covers politics. Read her latest stories here . Follow her on Twitter and Facebook . Send her tips at andrea.zelinski@chron.com.