The Constitutionally Protected Parachute Jump

The framers of the constitution weren’t able to anticipate many things including, for example, jumping off of skyscapers:

In an eight-page decision, state Supreme Court Judge Michael Ambrecht dismissed a felony charge of reckless endangerment against a California stuntman, Jeb Corliss, because his conduct, “while dangerous and ill-conceived, does not rise to the level of depraved indifference” and is, in fact, “constitutionally protected freedom of expression.”

Mr. Corliss, 30, was arrested last April as he was about to dive off the Empire State Building, which is 1,453 feet tall. He concealed his parachute inside a “fat suit” to get through the building’s metal detectors, and made it as far as the ledge on the 86th floor’s observation deck before security guards and police handcuffed him to a fence.

. . .

Mr. Corliss’s lawyer, Mark Heller, said his client had meticulously prepared for the jump by analyzing traffic patterns, wind conditions, and other risks. He has made more than 1,000 jumps in 16 different countries, including from the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, Mr. Heller said.

For Mr. Corliss, BASE jumping, which refers to leaping from bridge, antenna, span, and earth, is a creative act, Mr. Heller said.

“When he jumps off of a building, he moves his body in different directions, flips and turns, and flies through the air with the greatest of ease,” he said. “This is his way of expressing himself.”

. . .

Mr. Heller called the decision a “landmark case” that may allow anyone to jump from a tall building or structure without facing consequences.

Location Scout: Empire State Building.