Clothing laws vary by country around the world. The United States , like most countries, does not have laws that state what clothing is required to be worn; however, wearing insufficient clothing can be prosecuted in many countries under indecent exposure or public indecency. Indecent exposure is the crime of deliberately showing one's sexual organs in public or being naked in a public place. Although there is no federal law for or against nudity in the United States, nudity is generally against the law in public places in every state. Several offenses may involve exposure of a specific body part or specific intention, including "indecent exposure," "public lewdness," "public indecency," and "disorderly conduct. In some cases, these laws may conflict with constitutional protections for freedom of expression. Indecent exposure Class A misdemeanor : A person commits the crime of indecent exposure if, with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of himself or any person other than his spouse, he exposes his genitals under circumstances in which he knows his conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm in any public place or on the private premises of another or so near thereto as to be seen from such private premises. Public lewdness Class C misdemeanor : A person commits the crime of public lewdness if: 1 He exposes his anus or genitals in a public place and is reckless about whether another may be present who will be offended or alarmed by his act; or 2 He does any lewd act in a public place which he knows is likely to be observed by others who would be affronted or alarmed. Indecent exposure in the second degree before a person 16 years of age or older is a class B misdemeanor.
Indecent Exposure
Lewd Conduct
Naturism is used to describe the activities of persons who espouse nudity as part of their lifestyle. In the case of naturism a balance needs to be struck between the naturist's right to freedom of expression and the right of the wider public to be protected from harassment, alarm and distress. Although every case should be considered according to its own facts and merits in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors a consistent approach to naturism should be adopted to maintain public confidence in the CPS. Where none of the features exist that would bring behaviour within the ambit of one of the offences set out in the section on Other offences that might involve nudity below, the recommended approach to naturism should be as follows. In the absence of any sexual context and in relation to nudity where the person has no intention to cause alarm or distress it will normally be appropriate to take no action unless members of the public were actually caused harassment, alarm or distress as opposed to considering the likelihood of this. In this case such conduct should be regarded as at most amounting to an offence under section 5 of the Public Order Act POA. Regard needs to be had to the question of whether a prosecution is in the public interest.
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By Clay White. Indecent exposure is the intentional exposure of one's private parts in public. Laws prohibiting indecent exposure vary throughout the country, but share many similarities. In order to secure a conviction for indecent exposure, the prosecutor must produce evidence sufficient to prove to a judge or jury, beyond a reasonable doubt, the existence of specific components of the offense.
It includes criminal offenses like indecent exposure and lewd conduct. The U. Barnes v. Glen Theatre , U. Sexual activity in public is illegal throughout the U. The mere act of public nudity, or exposure of specific body parts, is illegal in many parts of the U. For example, Vermont does not expressly prohibit mere public nudity. Law enforcement may use lesser offenses like disorderly conduct in cases that lack intent to shock, offend, or arouse. Breastfeeding in public is not considered indecent exposure under U.
