'Centerfold on wheels' leads to felony charges

"But there needs to be a modicum of reasonableness built in."

Indeed, there does need to be a modicum of reasonableness. It's reasonable to stop seeing nudity as something sinful to begin with.

Driver won't face charges if racy art stays off the street Prosecutor says he'll drop charges if vehicle with stripper mural stays off the streets.

By Tom Spalding mailto:[email protected] January 17, 2004

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said Friday that he will drop a felony charge against an Indianapolis woman if she cleans up the image that got her in trouble -- an airbrushed painting of a nude stripper on her car.

Erica L. Meredith, a mother of three who drove the vintage 1976 Buick sedan so she could pick up her daughter from school, said she's OK with whatever allows her to keep her job.

"I don't know if we'll sell (the car) or keep it," said Meredith, 25. "We'll do something about the trunk. I don't want to get in any more trouble."

Brizzi said his intent in filing the charge was not to make this a First Amendment or obscenity case. He said he wanted to protect minors from viewing such harmful material.

"What I was trying to balance is this: If I don't do anything, what message am I sending to the community? If I don't charge it, then I don't have any way of getting that car off the streets," Brizzi said.

If Meredith fails to remove the mural and drives the car, Brizzi said he will reinstate the charge of disseminating material harmful to a minor, a Class D felony.

Meredith, who had a suspended license, was stopped by an Indianapolis police officer Jan. 8 because of a broken taillight. An officer then noticed the 3-by-5-foot scene painted on the car's trunk.

The painting shows a naked woman hanging on to a pole as two men, one smoking a cigar, watch from the audience. Her breasts and pubic area are visible.

Meredith's boyfriend, Keyon Johnson, had the mural painted last spring. He said he takes the car to cultural events and car shows.

Records show the car had been stopped three previous times by different IPD officers, none of whom raised an issue about the art. Meredith was charged with a felony for driving the car in the vicinity of a school.

The officer wrote in a report that he was applying "contemporary community standards" to justify the arrest.

Subsequent publicity over the arrest prompted local and nationwide media attention.

Indiana law allows children to be exposed to nudity if it is used for appropriate artistic or educational purposes, such as at a library, museum or school.

When the art is mobile, it falls under a less-protected form of expression, officials said.

Henry Karlson, a professor of law at Indiana University, said Brizzi's desire to protect children was commendable and accurate.

"I guess there is a lesson -- that what you put on your automobile has some limits," Karlson said.

Stephen Schaf, president of the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, commended the airbrush artist, who has not been identified, for the bravery shown in creating the expression. He said it is a sad sign of the times that the illustration of a naked woman can be so valued in a private setting, but so "frowned on" when exposed to the public.

But Schaf noted that in a museum, "It's a controlled environment, where people know what to expect. By the same token, when driving down the street, we don't expect a woman to be naked on a car."

Jack Crawford, attorney for Meredith, said there are a lot worse images the public is exposed to that go undisputed, ranging from the images on semitrailer mudflaps to public statues around town.

"It's real tough to allow the government to legislate good taste," Crawford said.

But Brizzi noted that if the image was acceptable, why had The Indianapolis Star chosen not to run photos of the car? And why had other stations shown video of the car, but digitally altered it to avoid offending any viewers?

Star Editor Dennis Ryerson said the newspaper weighs issues of taste all the time.

"Our not publishing a photo of the car wasn't a legal issue, it was a matter of taste."

Meredith and Johnson said they were surprised the artwork may have violated the law because the vehicle has been driven throughout Indianapolis since last summer, and in fact was even part of the unofficial "cruising" of sporty vehicles that took place Downtown last summer during Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration and the Circle City Classic.

The streets at those events were full of police officers directing traffic and controlling the crowds, Johnson said, and at least one officer complimented the artwork.

"Nobody wants to trample on First Amendment rights," said Indianapolis Police Chief Jerry Barker.

"But there needs to be a modicum of reasonableness built in."

Call Star reporter Tom Spalding at 1-317-327-7939.