Crimes Against Public Order,

1
Chapter 13
Crimes Against Public Order, Safety, and Morality
2
Chapter 13
Crimes Against Public Order, Safety, and Morality
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able
to

• Define the crimes that encompass breaching the
  peace.
• State the purpose and elements of nuisance
  crimes.
• Understand the various traffic offenses and
  explain their distinctions.

Continued
3
Chapter 13
Crimes Against Public Order, Safety, and Morality
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able
to

• Name typical circumstances that could constitute
  a weapons offense.
• Explain and understand obscenity offenses.
• Understand the crime of prostitution and the
  parties involved.

Continued
4
Chapter 13
Crimes Against Public Order, Safety, and Morality
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able
to

• Explain the crime of sodomy.
• Distinguish and understand legal and illegal
  gambling.

5
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Public Order and Safety Offenses are a modern
outgrowth of common law crimes aimed at keeping
the peace and evolved after the onset of the
industrial revolution, when lawmakers found it
necessary to update the legal approach to respond
to such problems.
Continued
6
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Public Order and Safety Offenses
public order and safety offenses Offenses
designed to protect the general public by dealing
with behavior that is not necessarily immoral,
but nonetheless affects the peace and safety of
the community.
7
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Public order and safety offenses are considered
to be mala prohibita crimes.
mala prohibita Crimes defining conduct that is
wrong only because the law says it is wrong, in
order to protect the general public.
8
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Public Order and Safety Offenses
In contrast to mala prohibita crimes are mala in
se crimes.
mala in se Crimes, such as rape and murder, that
are inherently wrong.
9
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Public order and safety offenses are
distinguishable from other crimes because most of
them do not require a particular mens rea in
order for a defendant to be guilty.
They are usually strict liability offenses.
10
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Offenses that Create a Public Disturbance
At common law, any voluntary action that
disturbed a communitys peace without lawful
justification or excuse was considered a crime.
These actions were generally categorized under
the offense of breach of the peace.
These offenses are discussed below.
11
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Offenses that Create a Public Disturbance
Unlawful Assembly
A gathering can begin as a lawful, but develop
into an unlawful assembly.
unlawful assembly A gathering together of three
or more persons with the common intent to achieve
a lawful or unlawful purpose but who part without
doing it or making any motions toward it.
12
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Unlawful Assembly Modern unlawful assembly
statutes are currently divided as to whether
there must be intent to perform the planned
activity in a violent manner. Some jurisdictions
require the presence or threat of force or
violence that disrupts the public order. Other
jurisdictions consider the nature of the
assembly. If the purpose of the assembly is
unlawful, then there is an unlawful assembly.
13
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Offenses that Create a Public Disturbance
Rout
Today, the crime of rout is usually not a
separate crime. Instead, it has been either
eliminated or merged with the crime of unlawful
assembly.
rout An unlawful assembly that is escalating, but
does not reach, the level of a riot an attempted
riot.
14
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Offenses that Create a Public Disturbance
Riot
Due to the number of people involved in a riot,
the group behavior is potentially more dangerous
to the public than other activity, thus posing
special problems for law enforcement.
Continued
15
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Offenses that Create a Public Disturbance
riot A tumultuous disturbance of the peace by
three persons or more assembling together in the
execution of a lawful or unlawful act and
committing it in a violent and turbulent manner.
16
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Offenses that Create a Public Disturbance
Disorderly Conduct
At common law, there was no offense known as
disorderly conduct.
disorderly conduct A loosely defined offense
addressing behavior that disturbs the safety,
health, or morals of others, or that is intended
only to annoy another person.
17
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Offenses that Create a Public Disturbance
Disorderly Conduct
The Modern Penal Code (MPC) definition of
disorderly conduct contains the essential
elements of the crime
A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if, with
purpose to cause public inconvenience, annoyance
or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof
Continued
18
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Offenses that Create a Public Disturbance
Disorderly Conduct

• engages in fighting or threatening, or in violent
  or tumultuous behavior.
• makes unreasonable noise or offensively coarse
  utterance, gesture or display, or addresses
  abusive language to any person present.

Continued
19
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Offenses that Create a Public Disturbance
Disorderly Conduct

• creates a hazardous or physically offensive
  condition by any act that serves no legitimate
  purpose of the actor.

20
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Offenses that Create a Public Disturbance
Vagrancy
Although all states once had anti-vagrancy laws,
many states today have repealed these laws
because the U.S. Supreme Court has issued
decisions that effectively rendered them
unconstitutional.
Continued
21
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Offenses that Create a Public Disturbance
vagrancy A crime that is vaguely defined
essentially as being idle, or wandering, without
visible means of support no longer a crime in
most jurisdictions due to the unconstitutionality
of past vagrancy laws.
22
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Vagrancy in Ancient Times Vagrancy laws are very
old, going back to ancient Greece. In medieval
England, wanderers were punished and returned
home, and persons unable to work were confined to
their own parishes. By the eighteenth century,
the term vagrant was roughly synonymous with the
homeless person of today.
23
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Nuisances
Although criminal prosecution is one remedy for a
nuisance, the most common approach is by a civil
action on behalf of the community, either for
damages or to abate the nuisance.
nuisance Anything that endangers life or health,
gives offense to the senses, violates laws of
decency, or obstructs the reasonable and
comfortable use of property.
24
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Nuisances
Anyone who maintains, permits, or allows a public
nuisance will receive a notice for abatement.
Failing to abate a nuisance is a misdemeanor.
abatement When applied to a nuisance, the ending
or eliminating of that nuisance.
25
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Nuisances
The historical development of the public nuisance
concept was intended for the protection of both
the public and the individual committing the
nuisance.
26
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Nuisances
Today, even though criminal nuisance statutes
still may exist in many jurisdictions, behavior
that otherwise might be charged as a nuisance may
also be the subject of action for disorderly
conduct.
27
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Nuisances
Criminal prosecution may also be brought for
other types of nuisances, such as

• Maintenance of disorderly houses
• The manufacture or storage of explosives
• Nuisances in streets or highways
• Liquor nuisances
• Interference with the uses to which property has
  been dedicated

28
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Nuisances
Behavior with serious criminal implications is
sometimes charged as a nuisance and prosecuted
through civil courts, so that it can be
prosecuted with the lowered burden of proof found
in civil courts.
29
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
Traffic violations are usually strict liability
offenses that, in most jurisdictions, are
criminal in nature.
They usually carry light penalties, such as a
fine, an order to attend traffic school, or
possibly some jail time.
30
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
The traffic violation of speeding exists to
ensure a safe and orderly flow of traffic on
streets and highways.
Because of the strict liability of the offense, a
defense that the cars speedometer was broken
usually will have no effect on the outcome.
31
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
The reckless driving offense requires a purpose
or willfulness to commit an act as a free agent,
but does not require an evil intent.
reckless driving Driving that involves the
willful and wanton disregard for the safety of
persons or property.
32
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
The reckless driving offense requires a purpose
or willingness to commit an act as a free agent,
but does not require an evil intent.
It also includes the elements of

• Consciousness of ones conduct
• The general intent to do or omit the act in
  question

Continued
33
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations

• The realization of the probable injury to another
• Reckless disregard for the consequences

In a prosecution for reckless driving, the
prosecution must prove that the defendant would
have reasonably foreseen that death or injury
might occur as a result of his or her driving.
34
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
An individual commits a failure to stop offense
if he or she is directed to stop by a duly
authorized law enforcement officer, but willfully
refuses or fails to do so.
Another violation occurs when a driver stops in
compliance with the direction of an officer, then
willfully flees in an attempt to elude law
enforcement.
35
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
Leaving the scene of an accident involving death,
personal injury, or property damage is more
commonly referred to as hit and run.
The elements of hit and run include

• Involvement in an accident resulting in injury
  to, or death of a person, or damage to a vehicle.

Continued
36
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations

• Failure to stop and furnish information about
  ones identity and that of the vehicle
• Failure to render assistance to any persons
  injured and give immediate notice of the accident
  to the police

37
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
Another common traffic violation is driving on a
suspended or revoked license.
A person caught driving with a suspended license
may receive an additional suspension or
revocation period, or a stiffer penalty such as
jail time or the impounding of the vehicle.
38
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
When driving under the influence (DUI), a
defendant does not have to actually drive the car
in order to be convicted.
driving under the influence (DUI) Operating a
motor vehicle while under the influence of a
substance or with a blood or breath alcohol
concentration above a prohibited level.
39
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
The elements of DUI are the same in most
jurisdictions

• The defendant operated a motor vehicle upon a
  roadway within the jurisdiction of the court.

Continued
40
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations

• The operation occurred while the defendant was
  either under the influence of an intoxicant,
  narcotic, or hallucinogenic to the extent that
  his or her normal faculties were impaired.
• The operation occurred while the defendant was
  driving with a blood or breath alcohol
  concentration above a prohibited level.

41
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
Almost every state specifically allows DUI cases
to be tried before a jury of ones peers because
of the seriousness of the penalties.
42
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
The crime of DUI manslaughter occurs when an
individual is driving under the influence and, by
reason of the operation of a motor vehicle,
causes the death of any human being.
43
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
Many statutes on DUI manslaughter declare that
the defendant is guilty of manslaughter if

• Someone was killed by the defendants vehicle
• While he or she was under the influence of
  alcohol
• Either his or her faculties were impaired or he
  or she had an unlawful blood alcohol level

44
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
The crime of vehicular manslaughter is the
killing of a human being by the operation of a
motor vehicle in a reckless manner likely to
cause death or great bodily harm to another.
This offense requires proof of death as a result
of the operation of a motor vehicle in a reckless
manner.
45
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Traffic Violations
The elements of vehicular homicide are satisfied
where the driver of a motor vehicle, with
deliberation and premeditation and with malice
aforethought, drives over or strikes a person
with the specific intent of killing him.
In the absence of any statute to the contrary
effect, no degree of negligence will suffice to
make the unlawful killing murder.
46
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
A variety of circumstances could constitute a
weapons offense. These include, but are not
limited to

• An underaged possessor
• The use of an illegal or legal but unregistered
  weapon

Continued
47
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses

• The location where the weapon was discovered,
  such as in ones vehicle or on ones person,
  without permission to carry a weapon there
• The possession or transportation of an explosive,
  firearm, or ammunition, with intent that it be
  used or with knowledge that it may be used to
  commit a crime

Continued
48
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses

• Placing another person in fear of a harmful
  weapon
• Offensive bodily contact with a weapon
• Use of a firearm as a weapon, whether it is
  loaded or not

49
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
Unlike most assault or battery charges, an
assault or battery with a dangerous or deadly
weapon is usually classified as a felony.
The charge will be higher or lower in degree
depending upon the severity of the action and the
result.
50
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
In regard to weapons offenses, an unintended
killing is one that results from the reckless or
criminally negligent use of a firearm.
Such a killing constitutes manslaughter.
51
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
Deadly or Dangerous Weapons
Due to the fact that some weapons are clearly
lethal, it is the duty of the court to declare
them to be such as a matter or law.
The most obvious weapons in this class are guns,
revolvers, pistols, swords, and the like.
52
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
Deadly or Dangerous Weapons
Objects that are considered deadly or dangerous
weapons include bowie knives, pocket or folding
knives, chisels (when used for stabbing), large
stones or rocks, heavy iron weights, heavy
pistols (when used for clubbing), and
automobiles.
53
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
Firearms
A firearm is defined as

• Any weapon, including a starter gun, that can, is
  designed to, or may readily be converted to expel
  a projectile by the action of an explosive
• The frame or receiver of any such weapon

Continued
54
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
Firearms

• Any firearm muffler or firearm silencer
• Any destructive device.

This definition includes machine guns, along with
certain other types of weaponry. It excludes the
more common types of guns, such as most ordinary
rifles, shotguns, and handguns.
55
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
Assault weapons
The definition of assault weapon includes rifles
with conspicuous pistol grips, pistols with
shrouds, and shotguns with a higher ammunition
capacity.
56
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
Assault weapons
Federal law has three basic definitions of
assault weapons

• A list of specific assault weapon models
• A list of duplicates
• A generic, all-included category that covers
  certain assault weapon characteristics

57
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
Assault weapons
Assault weapon legislation, which began with a
1989 California law and culminated in the Federal
Crime Act of 1994, marked a new trend in firearms
law.
58
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
Assault weapons
The federal assault weapon prohibition provided
in this act stated that it was unlawful for a
person to manufacture, transfer, or possess a
semiautomatic assault weapon.
59
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986
The Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986, also
known as the National Firearms Act (NFA)
regulates traditional firearms such as rifles,
pistols, and shotguns.
60
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986
One section of the NFA regulates defined
firearms, including machine guns, short-barreled
shotguns and rifles, destructive devices such as
hand grenades and bazookas, silencers, and
deceptive weapons.
61
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986
NFA firearms must be registered with the Bureau
of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) and are
subject to regulation.
To be convicted under the NFA, the prosecution
must prove that the violation was willful or
intentional.
62
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
State Firearms Laws
Most states have constitutional provisions
guaranteeing the right of its citizens to keep
and bear arms.
Almost all states restrict possession of firearms
by convicted felons. More urbanized states have
stricter prohibitions.
63
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Weapons Offenses
State Firearms Laws
Southern and western states, with the exception
of California, tend to regulate the carrying of
concealed weapons but otherwise have few
restrictions.
64
Section 13.1
Public Order and Safety Offenses
Of the traffic offenses discussed, which do you
think is the most common and why?
65
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Public Morality Offenses
Some issues of public morality, such as what
constitutes indecent exposure, change in the
publics eyes over time others, such as child
pornography, do not.
Some public morality offenses, such as
prostitution and gambling, are geographically
restricted to certain areas of the United States.
66
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Public Morality Offenses
There is considerable public debate about whether
some of these offenses, such as gambling,
prostitution, and sodomy, are victimless crimes
and thus should be decriminalized.
67
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity
The term pornography refers to sexually explicit
material that is generally protected by First
Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and
freedom of the press.
The law regulates pornography, but it does not
make the sale, possession, or distribution of it
a crime.
68
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity
On the other hand, the law punishes the sale,
possession, and distribution of obscene material.
obscenity Sexually explicit material that falls
outside the protection of the First Amendment and
therefore may be punished under a criminal
statute.
69
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity
Obscenity may take the form of a book, magazine,
newspaper, picture, drawing, photograph, motion
picture, statue, or recording.
Although obscenity is very similar to
pornography, these terms are not legally
synonymous.
70
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity
Obscenity was first held to be an offense under
English common law as early as 1729.
In the United States, the first federal obscenity
law resulted from the circulation of French
postcards in the mid-nineteenth century.
71
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity
The Customs Law of 1842 barred the importation of
indecent and obscene prints, paintings,
lithographs, engravings, and transparencies.
The Federal Comstock Act of 1873, prohibited the
use of the mail to convey obscene material.
The Comstock Act survives today with alterations
and additions.
72
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity and Literature The first American
conviction of obscenity occurred in Commonwealth
v. Holmes, which involved the sale of the book
Fanny Hill. In 1933, however, controversy over
the sale of James Joyces Ulysses, which is now
considered a literary classic, led to the case
United States. v. One Book Called Ulysses.
Continued
73
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected
former tests of obscenity and focused instead on
the dominant effect of the entire work.
74
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Federal Law and Obscenity Tests
Through the early twentieth century, American
courts applied the standard of obscenity
articulated by an English court in the 1868
decision of Regina v. Hicklin.
The Hicklin court made its decision based on the
content of isolated passages of the book rather
than as a whole.
75
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Federal Law and Obscenity Tests
In 1933, a federal district court rejected the
isolated passages approach established in
Hicklin.
Instead, in determining whether the material was
obscene, it focused on the dominant effect the
entire book would have on an average person.
76
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Federal Law and Obscenity Tests
In 1957, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Roth v.
United States that while the First Amendment
protected material with even the slightest
redeeming social importance, obscenity was
defined as material that is utterly without
redeeming social importance.
77
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Federal Law and Obscenity Tests
The court established what has become known as
the tripartite test. The test focused on whether
The test focused on whether an average
person, applying contemporary community
standards, would think that the dominant theme of
the material taken as a whole appeals to the
prurient interest.
78
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Federal Law and Obscenity Tests
In 1966, the Court was asked again to define
obscenity.
In Memoirs v. Massachusetts, the Court held that
for a book or other publication to be outside the
protection of the First Amendment, it must be
utterly without redeeming social interest.
79
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Federal Law and Obscenity Tests
In 1973, the Court overturned its previous
decisions of 1957 and 1966 and abandoned its
previous requirement of utterly without
redeeming social value.
It established the test that is used today in
determining whether material is obscene.
80
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Federal Law and Obscenity Tests
The court provided the following guidelines in
determining whether material was obscene

• Whether the average person, applying contemporary
  community standards would find that the work,
  taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interest.

Continued
81
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Federal Law and Obscenity Tests

• Whether the work depicts or describes, in a
  patently offensive way, sexual conduct
  specifically defined by the applicable state law.
• Whether the work taken as a whole, lacks serious
  literary, artistic, political, or scientific
  value.

82
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Federal Law and Obscenity Tests
The U.S. Supreme Court held that obscene material
is an exception to the First Amendment.
Today, both the federal and state governments
have enacted laws that make it a criminal offense
to produce, distribute, or exhibit obscene
material.
83
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity and the Model Penal Code
The MPC provides that material is obscene if its
predominant appeal is to a shameful or morbid
interest in nudity, sex, or excretion and if, in
addition, it goes substantially beyond customary
limits of candor in describing or representing
such matters.
84
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity and the Model Penal Code
Under the MPC, the concept of predominant appeal
is judged with reference to ordinary adults.
An exception occurs when material appears, from
its character or the circumstances of its
dissemination, to be designed for children or
other especially susceptible audiences.
85
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity and the Model Penal Code
The MPC establishes an affirmative defense to a
charge of obscenity if dissemination was
restricted to noncommercial dissemination to
personal associates of the actor.
86
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity and the Internet
There is much concern over how to prevent
children from encountering sexually explicit
materials and discussions through their
computers, yet still protect the First Amendment
rights of adults to engage in constitutionally
protected indecent speech.
87
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity and the Internet
In 1996, President Clinton signed the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, which was
subsequently passed by Congress.
This act, which was incorporated into the
Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996, bans
the transmission of obscene materials to minors
via broadcast media, including the Internet.
88
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity and the Internet
In 1996, however, a federal district court ruled
that the CDA is unconstitutional on its face in
response, the Department of Justice appealed this
ruling.
89
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Obscenity and the Internet
This case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, Remo v.
ACLU.
Currently, federal law prohibits the interstate
and foreign transportation of obscene matters for
sale or distribution by mail, importation, or
transport via common carrier, broadcast, and
private conveyance.
90
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Child Pornography
In 1997, Congress passed the Protection of
Children from Sexual Exploitation Act.
This act prohibited the production of any
sexually explicit material using a child under
the age of 16 if such material was destined for,
or has already traveled in, interstate commerce.
91
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Child Pornography
Violation of this act leads to penalties of up to
ten years in prison and/or a 10,000 fine.
This was applicable to parents or other
custodians who knowingly permit a child to
participate in the production of sexually
explicit material.
92
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Child Pornography
The act was revised under the Child Protection
Act of 1984, which was enacted to extend criminal
sanctions for child pornography.
93
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Child Pornography
The 1984 Act did the following

• Eliminated the requirement that child pornography
  distribution be undertaken for commerce, and
  criminalized distribution for any reason
• Eradicated former obscenity test requirements so
  that any pornography could be prosecuted
• Raised the age of protected persons to 18

94
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Child Pornography
In addition, current federal law prohibits
employing, using, persuading, inducing, enticing,
or coercing a minor to engage in any sexually
explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any
visual depiction of such conduct.
95
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Child Pornography
Also barred is the knowing transmission or
receipt by computer of visual depictions
involving the use of a minor engaged in sexually
explicit conduct, as well as the knowing
publication of a notice or advertisement seeking
or offering to receive, exchange, buy, produce,
display, distribute, or reproduce such visual
depictions.
96
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Indecent Exposure
At common law and early statutes, indecent
exposure was referred to as lewdness.
The elements required to convict a person of
lewdness were

• Intentionally, indecently, and offensively
  exposing the sex organs
• in the presence of another.

97
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Indecent Exposure
The purpose of modern indecent exposure statutes
is to protect the public sensibilities and
prevent public lewdness.
indecent exposure An offensive display of ones
body in public, especially ones genitals or the
female breasts.
98
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Indecent Exposure
Almost every jurisdiction recognizes indecent
exposure as a criminal offense, and a general
criminal intent is usually required to hold a
person criminally liable for this offense.
99
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Indecent Exposure
Some jurisdictions have adopted the common law
approach of requiring that the conduct be
committed in a public place.
Other jurisdictions only require knowledge on the
part of the defendant that his or her exposure is
likely to cause affront or alarm.
100
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Indecent Exposure
Exhibitionists are intentional in what they do,
and do not include people who occasionally and
accidentally expose themselves.
exhibitionists Repeated intentional acts of
exposing the genitals to an unexpecting stranger
for the purpose of achieving sexual excitement.
101
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Indecent Exposure
Many states have specific statutes dealing with
exhibitionism, and others classify it as
disorderly conduct.
102
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Indecent Exposure
The MPC provides that a person commits a
misdemeanor when, for the purpose of arousing or
gratifying sexual desire of himself or herself or
of any person other than his or her spouse,
exposes his or her genitals under circumstances
in which he or she knows his or her conduct is
likely to cause affront or alarm.
103
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Indecent Exposure
Many state laws and municipality ordinances
contain provisions that permit exceptions to
indecent exposure statutes, such as partial or
full nudity during public entertainment to which
only adults are invited.
104
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
Prostitution was not specifically a crime at
common law, but when a woman solicited men on the
street, her conduct was punishable as a public
nuisance.
prostitution A crime that is committed when one
person agrees to engage in sexual or deviate
sexual intercourse in return for something of
value, usually money.
105
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
Today, prostitution is a statutory crime.
The offense of prostitution does not consist of
the sexual act itself rather, it is the
agreement to participate in sexual activity for
compensation.
Moreover, members of either sex may be convicted
of prostitution, as distinguished from past laws
that convicted only women.
106
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Myth
Fact
A prostitute and patron will not be charged with
any crime unless sexual activity actually took
place in exchange for compensation.
A prostitute or a person who solicits a
prostitute can be convicted of solicitation
without sexual activity taking place.
107
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
The crime of prostitution may be applicable in a
federal context under the Mann Act.
Mann Act A federal act that prohibits the knowing
transportation in interstate or foreign commerce
of any individual, male or female, with the
intent that such individual engage in
prostitution or in any sexual activity.
108
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
A recent amendment to the Mann act now prohibits
the knowing transportation in interstate or
foreign commerce of any individual, male or
female, with the intent that such individual
engage in prostitution or in any sexual activity
for which any person can be charged with a
criminal offense.
109
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
Another federal statute prohibits travel in
interstate or foreign commerce, or the use of the
mails, in aid of state or federal prostitution
offenses.
110
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
Efforts to decriminalize prostitution have met
with limited success.
Only Nevada has legalized prostitution under
certain conditions.
111
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
Some jurisdictions make solicitation of a
prostitute an offense.
solicitation The act of offering to pay another,
or receive payment from another, for sex.
112
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
The purpose of statutes forbidding soliciting is
to prevent prostitutes from standing in public
places, trying to entice passersby into paying
for sex.
Since the crime of prostitution punishes both
actors, the patron who solicits a prostitute is
found guilty under these laws.
113
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
When a prospective patron propositions an
undercover agent posing as a prostitute, this
person is usually charged with soliciting.
Most prostitution cases that go to court today
involve police decoys that use solicitation as
the basis of the criminal charge.
114
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
If the prospective patron agrees to purchase
sexual favors, he or she may bear the criminal
responsibility for the separate offense known as
patronizing a prostitute.
Ordinarily, the offense of patronizing a
prostitute is punishable to the same extent as
prostitution, which is usually a misdemeanor.
115
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
The real force behind prostitution is not the
prostitute, but the person who promotes
prostitution.
Since the promoter makes prostitution a growing
business, his or her activity is usually punished
more severely than that of a prostitute. This
activity is known as pimping. The promoters are
known as pimps.
Continued
116
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
pimping Promoting prostitution, living off of the
earnings of prostitutes, and in some cases
coercing individuals to work as prostitutes.
117
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
Pandering consists of either procuring a female
for a place of prostitution or procuring a place
for a prostitute in which she can ply her trade.
The principal difference between pimping and
pandering is that a pimp solicits patrons for the
prostitute and lives off her earnings, while a
panderer recruits prostitutes and sets them up in
business.
118
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Prostitution, Solicitation, and Pandering
Promoting, pimping, and pandering are generally
forbidden by state statutes.
In Utah, for example, there are three basic
offenses aiding prostitution, exploiting
prostitution, and aggravated exploitation of
prostitution.
119
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Adultery, Fornication, and Illicit Cohabitation
At common law, adultery and fornication were not
crimes unless the conduct was open and notorious,
in which case it was punishable as a public
nuisance.
Continued
120
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Adultery, Fornication, and Illicit Cohabitation
adultery Sexual relations with someone other than
a spouse when the person is married.
fornication Voluntary, unlawful sexual
intercourse, under circumstances not constituting
adultery.
121
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Adultery, Fornication, and Illicit Cohabitation
Today, adultery and fornication are misdemeanors,
if they are treated as crimes at all.
In some states, fornication is no longer a
recognized offense while adultery is.
122
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Myth
Fact
Adultery and fornication were serious common law
offenses in both England and the United States.
Adultery and fornication were punished by church
officials as ecclesiastical offenses, but were
not recognized as common law crimes in England.
123
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Sodomy and Related Sexual Offenses
The term sodomy has been defined in many ways and
in many jurisdictions over many years.
sodomy The unlawful sexual penetration of the
anus or mouth of one person by the penis of
another.
124
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Sodomy and Related Sexual Offenses
Although it is no longer a capital offense, this
early revulsion continued in American culture and
some sodomy laws still exist today.
Some states punish sodomy even if it is a
consensual act between consenting adults in the
privacy of their bedroom.
125
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Gambling
Gambling usually involves an agreement that a
person will win something based on a certain
outcome of events.
gambling The act of staking or risking something
of value on the outcome of a contest of chance,
or on a future event of chance that is not under
the gamblers control or influence.
126
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Gambling
Betting and wagering are used interchangeably,
and they apply only to forms of gambling that are
not lotteries.
Betting or wagering is a promise to give
something of value upon the determination of an
uncertain event, whether or not skill is
involved.
127
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
William Blackstone on Gambling The renowned legal
scholar William Blackstone said this about the
corrupting influences of gambling It is an
offense of the most alarming nature, tending by
necessary consequence to promote public idleness,
theft and debauchery among those of lower
classes, and
Continued
128
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
among persons of superior rank it hath frequently
been attended with the sudden ruin and desolation
of ancient and opulent families, an abandoned
prostitution of every principle of honor and
virtue, and too often hath ended in self murder.
129
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Gambling and the Law
At common law, gambling was not a crime unless it
became a public nuisance.
Today, gambling is supported by a large segment
of the population who enjoys it. Additionally,
many states use lotteries as a legal form of
gambling that is used to raise public revenues.
130
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Gambling and the Law
In order for gambling to be illegal, there must
be a specific law or ordinance prohibiting it.
In all states, there are at least some laws
prohibiting gambling, and they vary by
jurisdiction.
131
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Gambling and the Law
Most forms of gambling are legal in Nevada
Atlantic City, New Jersey and on Indian
reservations in several states.
In most jurisdictions, the only forms of gambling
that are lawful are state-operated lotteries,
racing, and bingo or other contests sponsored on
a nonprofit basis by social organizations.
132
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Gambling and the Law
In many jurisdictions, gambling establishments
will sometimes open on off-shore premises such
as riverboats to circumvent laws about gambling
on state land.
133
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Gambling and the Law
There are several federal statutes that also
limit gambling activities.
These statutes regulate gambling done through
interstate transportation, wire communications,
the U.S. Postal Service, or any other form where
gambling is conducted between the states.
134
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Gambling and the Law
Friendly gambling such as an office pool, a
football pool, or a neighborhood poker game is
generally legal.
135
Section 13.2
Public Morality Offenses
Why do you think that adultery and fornication
are no longer illegal in most jurisdictions?
136
End of Chapter 13