Just a little pat to express admiration . . .

Guess what we get to do, now, in New York.

A male sales clerk patted a female customer on the behind a couple of times, "for no legitimate reason." Hey, I understand. Sometimes those things just require that a little extra attention must be paid. (But as a matter of policy I try not to be observed observing.)

But apparently the customer determined that she had been offended in some fashion, as her mother always told her, I'm sure, that men were not supposed to put their hands on her own personal self without having first received clear permission. So she ran squalling to the cops. I'm not certain if the victim was checked for visible bruising or other marks of evidence. But the crime fighters, as required by their employment, decided to prosecute. They prosecuted under a fairly new law that criminalized "forcible touching."

Makes sense to me. Sounds kind of like an old common law battery where the degree of force required could be slight. After all, I'm sure the sales clerk's mother always told him to keep his hands to himself.

The judge, who probably had to go to school for this kind of stuff, has decided that a repeated pat on the buttocks is not a forcible touching for purposes of the law. Guess he thought that an appreciative pat is okay, as long as it is not a forcible touching.

Read it for yourself. I'm not making this up.