Calling a woman unchaste would no longer be a crime if legislation that moved forward Friday becomes law.

A Senate committee decided that most of Utah's criminal slander and libel laws should be thrown out, although they proposed keeping one statute -- criminal defamation -- in place. The laws to be tossed have been found or are considered to be unconstitutional and unenforceable.

One expert also said the criminal defamation law may not pass muster either, and added that most states are striking their criminal slander and libel statues. Those accusations can still be pursued by private parties in civil court.

As approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the legislation would repeal five sections of the criminal code relating to libel, "imputing unchastity to a female" and "conveying false or libelous material to newspaper or broadcasting stations."

Lawmakers wanted to retain, however, a law that makes it a Class B misdemeanor to knowingly communicate false information that will "tend to expose any other living person to public hatred, contempt or ridicule."

Edward Carter, a lawyer and communications professor at Brigham Young University, said laws criminalizing speech have a chilling effect on discourse and subvert the purpose of having free speech guarantees. Furthermore, he said such laws are "selectively applied" against political opponents and "disfavored voices in society" -- when they're applied at all.

"That's an illegitimate way to apply a criminal law," Carter said.

Most committee members, however, didn't want to completely remove libel and slander from the criminal code.

State Sen. Dave Thomas, R-South Weber, said a case could arise in which someone was defamed who didn't have the resources to hire an attorney and file a civil lawsuit.

The legislation by Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, has its roots in a Beaver County incident in which a high school student posted derogatory information about school officials, teachers and fellow students on a personal Web site.

The student was charged with criminal libel and slander for "imputing unchastity to a female." The slander charge was dismissed, and the student successfully challenged the state's criminal libel law as unconstitutional.

The bill now goes before the full Senate.

SB 122: Repeal of Libel Provisions

Sponsor: Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City

Would strike several criminal libel and slander laws from the Utah criminal code.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A7.