Chapter 8 Crimes Against Public Order and Public Decency
Chapter Outline
Introduction
Crimes Against Public Order
Breach of the Peace
Fighting Words
Disorderly Conduct, Vagrancy, and Loitering
Alcohol and Drug-Related Offenses
Public Intoxication and Drug Incapacitation
Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
Alcohol Offenses and Minors
Sale of Alcohol to Minors
Minors in Possession
Unlawful Assembly, Rout, and Riot
Weapons Offenses
Obstructing a Highway or Public Passage
Animal Abuse
Harassment
Crimes Against Public Decency
Lewdness and Indecency
Sodomy
Seduction and Fornication
Adultery
Bigamy
Prostitution
Statutory Provisions
Trafficking
Pornography
Summary
Study Questions
For Debate
Key Terms
Case Analysis
Internet Activity
Notes
Key Terms
Adultery: Consensual sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than his or her spouse; definitions and culpable parties vary widely by jurisdiction with a current trend toward decriminalizing or simply not prosecuting.
Bigamy: Knowingly and willingly contracting a second marriage when aware that another marriage is undissolved. Some jurisdictions consider the crime one of strict liability; thus, knowledge of a prior marriage is not required.
Breach of the peace: A willfully committed act that disturbs the public tranquility or order and for which there is no legal justification.
Disorderly conduct: Minor offenses, such as drunkenness or fighting, that disturb the peace or behavior standards of a community or shock the morality of its population.
Fighting words: Words that have the tendency to incite violence by the person to whom they are directed. Fighting words are more analogous to a punch in the mouth than the communication of ideas and are not protected by the First Amendment right to free speech.
Fornication: Unlawful sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons. Usually limited to opposite genders though in some jurisdictions it can refer to any two people.
Fundamental right: In U.S. constitutional law, a right that is named in the U.S. Constitution or implied within that document. It includes such rights as free speech and the right to the free exercise of religion which are specified, along with the right to privacy which is implied. Fundamental rights may be controlled by the government but only if the statutes are narrowly tailored—that is, they do not go beyond the conduct they can limit.
Obscenity: Written or visual material that is not protected by the First Amendment because of its offensive, clear description or depiction of sexual acts; because of its lack of any political, literary, scientific, or artistic value; and because of its tendency to arouse improper sexual reactions in the average person.
Pandering: Procuring or securing a person, usually a female, to satisfy the lust of another, usually a male; or catering to the lust of another person; also called pimping.
Prostitution: Indiscriminate sexual intercourse for hire. Some statutes specify women as the offenders, but others include men as well or use a neutral term. The criminal offense may include not only the prostitute but also any persons who solicit or promote prostitution or who live off of a prostitute’s earnings.
Riot:See Unlawful assembly.
Rout:See Unlawful assembly.
Seduction: The act by a man who uses solicitation, persuasion, promises, bribes, or other methods to entice a woman to have unlawful sexual intercourse with him. The modern trend has been to repeal seduction statutes, but those that remain generally categorize the crime as a misdemeanor.
Unlawful assembly: A misdemeanor under common law referring to the meeting of three or more persons to disturb the public peace, with the intention of participating in a forcible and violent execution of an unlawful enterprise or of a lawful enterprise in an unauthorized manner. To constitute unlawful assembly, the individuals do not have to carry out its purpose; but if they take steps to carry out the plan, they commit a rout. If they carry out the plan, they commit a riot.
Vagrancy: Under common law, an act or condition of wandering about from place to place without any visible means of support, refusing to work even though able to do so, and living off the charity of others. Many statutory vagrancy laws have been declared unconstitutional because of they are vague or overbroad.
Chapter Overview
- One key function of criminal justice systems, and policing in particular, has been the maintenance of the public peace. However, because acts that violate the public peace can vary in limitless ways, statutes tend to be fairly general. Hence, these statutes may be overly broad and void for vagueness. It is an important area of criminal law, but one that is difficult to explain.
- One such issue is the concern to prevent fighting or rioting, the meaning of the fighting words doctrine from Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire and how far the government can go to keep the peace. The line between permissible and impermissible speech is difficult to draw.
- Another area that produces problems is the historical use of vagrancy laws. In colonial times, those without homes and jobs were disfavored; therefore, communities resorted to arresting and punishing vagrants. But as in disorderly conduct cases, the statutes are frequently too broad to constitutionally enforce.
- Public intoxication and drug incapacitation are other issues that, historically, have been concerns and are given some modern crime prevention measures.
- In eighteenth-century England and the United States, heavy urbanization produced the phenomenon of rioting. In order to protect the public peace in England, the Riot Act was passed and read aloud whenever a crowd was ordered to disperse. Modern law continues this tradition of preventing unruly assemblies of people, although there are still constitutional concerns.
- Weapons are a major criminal and political problem in the United States. In the Morton Grove case, the Supreme Court apparently agreed that a city could ban outright outright the sale and ownership of all guns.
- Even peaceful demonstrations can have consequences for the public peace, and authorities do have the power to limit how the freedom of speech is carried out. Obstructing public rights of way is a problem without clear resolution, again inviting constitutional debate.
- Animal mistreatment is an increasingly serious problem for the criminal justice system and requires review of its current status.
- Harassment and other related problems have become increasingly at issue in criminal justice systems.
- Crimes regarding public morality have always been controversial and always involve, to some degree, the right of privacy. Some crimes include private consensual sexual acts between adults, while others include pornography. The political impact of these issues has been significant, but their impact on the criminal justice system is increasing.
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter the student will:
- Be able to explain the void for vagueness doctrine.
- Be able to explain what is meant by breach of the peace.
- Know the elements of disorderly conduct.
- Be able to explain the difference between vagrancy laws and loitering laws.
- Know the common problem that vagrancy and loitering laws have.
- Know the elements of unlawful assembly.
- Know the elements of prostitution.
- Know what is meant by the terms lewdness and indecency.
- Be able to discuss fornication, seduction, adultery, and bigamy and distinguish between them.
- Know when the possession of pornography is and is not a crime.
- Be able to explain obstruction of justice.
Review Questions
- Briefly explain the void for vagueness doctrine.
- What does not constitute free speech?
- How does void for vagueness and the overbreadth doctrine impact disorderly conduct, loitering, and vagrancy statutes?
- What do we mean when we speak of a breach of the peace?
- What are the elements of unlawful assembly?
- What is the difference between a riot and a rout?
- What is prostitution, and how does it relate to solicitation?
- What do we mean by lewdness and indecency?
- For the following offenses, give the elements required for conviction: perjury; bribery.
- What do we mean by obstruction of justice?
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of the following laws have been attacked as permitting police to exercise too much discretion, leading to discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities and the homeless?
a. fighting words
b. vagrancy
c. public intoxication
d. unlawful assembly
2. Which crime has been accepted as inevitable, even essential, and in some societies esteemed?
a. fornication
b. seduction
c. lewdness
d. prostitution
3. ______is a tumultuous disturbance of the peace by three or more persons assembled and acting with a common interest either in executing a lawful private enterprise in a violent and turbulent manner, to the terror of the people, or in executing an unlawful enterprise in a violent and turbulent manner.
a. Rout
b. Riot
c. Unlawful assembly
d. Public disturbance
4. Which of the following is not true regarding child pornography?
a. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court held that virtual child pornography—that which is created by computer simulations—may be owned or sold without violating federal statutes.
b. Congress and many states have enacted statutes aimed solely at child pornography.
c. All judges support increased sentences for those in possession of child pornography.
d. The federal statute concerning child pornography provides for forfeiture of any property or proceeds obtained, used, or produced as a result of the crime committed.
5. Which of the following crimes has been declared unconstitutional in many jurisdictions?
a. disorderly conduct
b. vagrancy
c. disturbing the peace
d. minor is possession
6. ______is a willfully committed act that disturbs the public tranquility or order and for which there is no legal justification.
a. Pandering
b. Riot
c. Breach of the peace
d. Disorderly conduct
7. As discussed in the textbook, ______is similar to breach of the peace.
a. fighting words
b. vagrancy
c. sodomy
d. seduction
8. ______refers to the act by a man who uses solicitation, persuasion, promises, bribes, or other methods to entice a woman to have unlawful sexual intercourse with him.
a. Pandering
b. Fornication
c. Lewdness
d. Seduction
9. Which of the following involves a minor offense, such as drunkenness or fighting?
a. pandering
b. disorderly conduct
c. vagrancy
d. loitering
10. Another word for pandering is:
a. pimping.
b. bribery.
c. prostitution.
d. embezzlement.
11. ______is consensual sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than his or her spouse.
a. Bigamy
b. Monogamy
c. Adultery
d. Fornication
12. Most of the prostitution-related arrests in New York City are over a ______violation.
a. prostitution
b. loitering
c. pandering
d. obscenity
13. Which of the following is not an alcohol and drug–related offense discussed in the textbook?
a. drug abuse
b. public intoxication
c. driving under the influence
d. minor in possession
14. Under common law, unlawful assembly was considered a ______.
a. felony
b. violation
c. misdemeanor
d. violent crime
15.In ______, the Court held that the Second Amendment establishes the right to use handguns for self-defense and that the Amendment applies to the states and municipalities.
a. Texas v. Lawrence
b. Bowers v. Hardwick
c. Johnson v. Texas
d. McDonald v. Chicago
16. The case involving Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick dealt with what fast-growing area of crime?
a. vagrancy
b. pandering
c. animal abuse
d. child abuse
17. Crimes against ______focus on acts that are not considered serious enough to be major crimes but are offensive enough,at least to some, to be included within the criminal law.
a. public decency
b. public order
c. public morality
d. society
18. Which of the following was created by Congress in an effort to protect children from pornography on the Internet in libraries?
a. Virtual Child Pornography Protection Act
b. Kid’s Data Act
c. Child Online Protection Act
d. Communications Privacy Act
19. Which of the following is one of the conditions that must be met for information to be considered obscene?
a. The information must be witnessed by a reasonable size audience.
b. The information must be deemed obscene by a reasonable person.
c. The work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
d. There is a significant interest in sex that would offend a reasonable person.
20. The textbook defines how many types of adultery?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
Fill-in-the-Blank Questions
1. ______The meeting of three or more persons to disturb the public peace with the intention of participating in a forcible and violent execution of an unlawful enterprise or of a lawful enterprise in an unauthorized manner.
2. ______This doctrine requires that statutes must be written so that reasonable people know what they mean.
3. ______Unlawful sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons.
4. ______This statute requires that laws must be specific regarding the conduct prohibited.
5. ______This phrase emphasized the need to preserve the peace and tranquillity of society.
6. ______Consensual sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than his or her spouse.
7. ______Which statute held to be constitutional was the subject of appeal in a Georgia case in which the defendant was convicted of saying, “You son of a bitch, I'll choke you to death”?
8. ______What act prohibits pornography involving depictions of children even though those children do not exist?
9. ______Minor offenses, such as drunkenness or fighting, that disturb the peace or behavior standards of a community or shock the morality of its population.
10. ______In U.S. constitutional law, a right that is named in the U.S. Constitution or implied within that document. It includes such things as free speech and the free exercise of religion.
11. ______Because of its offensive, clear description or depiction of sexual acts; because of its lack of any political, literary, scientific, or artistic value; and because of its tendency to arouse improper sexual reactions in the average person.
12. ______Knowingly and willingly contracting a second marriage when aware that another marriage is undissolved.
13. ______Procuring or securing a person, usually a female, to satisfy the lust of another, usually a male; catering to the lust of another person; also called pimping.
14. ______This type of pornography is said to harm and debase the most defenseless of our citizens.
15. ______What state was used as an example in the text where prostitution is defined as engaging or agreeing or offering “to engage in sexual conduct with another person in return for a fee”?
16. When three or more persons plan to disturb the public peace and they take steps to carry out the plan (but do not actually carry it out), they commit a ______.
17. ______The act by a man who uses solicitation, persuasion, promises, bribes, or other methods to entice a woman to have unlawful sexual intercourse with him.
18. When three or more persons plan to disturb the public peace and carry out the plan, they commit a ______.
19. ______This case considered the constitutionality of the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 (CPPA).
20. ______A willfully committed act that disturbs the public tranquility or order and for which there is no legal justification.
21. ______Under common law, an act or condition of wandering about from place to place without any visible means of support, refusing to work even though able to do so, and living off the charity of others.
22. ______Words that tend to incite violence by the person to whom they are directed.
23. ______To combat such exploitation, Congress and many states have enacted statutes aimed solely at child pornography such as this one in 1977.
Short Answer Questions
1. Why are fighting words not considered speech that is protected by the First Amendment?
2. Statutes covering disorderly conduct, vagrancy, and public abuse of alcohol and drugs are used for what purpose?
3. Name three offenses that are thought to threaten the public.
4. What was the ruling in the case of the United States v. X-Citement Video,and what were the effects of this ruling?
5. What was the significance of the case of Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition(2002).
ANSWER KEY
Multiple Choice Questions
1. b
2. d
3. c
4. c
5. b
6. c
7. a
8. d
9. b
10. a
11. c
12. b
13. a
14. c
15. d
16. c
17. a
18. c
19. c
20. b
Fill-in-the-Blank Questions
1. unlawful assembly
2. void for vagueness
3. fornication
4. overbreadth doctrine
5. preach of peace
6. adultery
7. breach of the peace
8. Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996
9. disorderly conduct
10. fundamental right
11. obscenity
12. bigamy
13. pandering
14. child pornography
15. New York
16. rout
17. seduction
18. riot
19. Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition
20. breach of peace
21. vagrancy
22. fighting words
23. Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977
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