Crimes against Public Decency | Vegas Defense Lawyer

Nevada Criminal Lawyer Explains Public Decency

Nevada law prohibits many different types of conduct. TItle 15, the part of Nevada’s code that deals with crimes and punishments, is the section of Nevada law that contains statutes criminalizing various types of behavior. Within Title 15, different kinds of crimes are divided into different chapters. For example, there is a chapter for crimes against persons and a chapter for crimes against the legislative power.

There is also a chapter for crimes against public decency and good morals. Chapter 201 is the chapter that criminalizes conduct which the state of Nevada has determined is so indecent or immoral that criminal penalties should be imposed. Many of the offenses within this chapter can result in serious penalties, sometimes including lengthy jail sentences and even required registration as a sex offender.

If you have been accused of violating any of the laws in Chapter 201 of Title 15, you need a Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer who is familiar with providing legal representation to clients accused of violating the laws against public decency and good morals. LV Criminal Defense has provided aggressive representation to defendants who have been accused of many different types of criminal conduct found within Chapter 200. To find out how our firm can help you to fight charges when you’ve been accused of acting immoral or in a way that violates public decency, give us a call today.

Nevada Laws on Crimes Against Public Decency and Good Morals

Within Chapter 201, different types of crimes against public decency and crimes against good morals are found within different sections of Nevada’s criminal code. For example, there are subcategories of Chapter 201 for:

● Failure to support a spouse, former spouse, or child.
● Paternity fraud.
● Contributing to the delinquency of children and neglect of children.
● Unlawful abortions and/or concealing the birth of a child.
● Bigamy, incenstual sexual behavior, engaging in sex acts in public, and committing crimes against nature involving children.
● Intentionally transmitting the HIV virus.
● Lewd behavior and indecent exposure.
● Obscenity.
● Making obscene telephone calls, threatening telephone calls, or annoying telephone calls.
● Exhibiting obscene material to minors or selling obscene material to minors.
● Committing crimes against religion, such as disturbing religious meetings.
● Desecrating the flag.
● Pandering, prostitution, and disorderly houses.
● Sexually penetrating the body of a deceased human being.
● Selling a human organ to be transplanted.
● Sexual conduct with pupils or students by someone in authority, such as a teacher.
● Luring of children or luring of people who have a mental illness.
● Recruiting someone to join a criminal gang.

Within each of these different subcategories are statutes which set forth the definition of particular offenses and which establish the penalties applicable to different types of crimes against public decency.

For example, Nevada Revised Statute section 201.150 makes it a gross misdemeanor offense to conceal the birth of a child. According to the relevant law, anyone who attempts to conceal the fact that a child was born by disposing of the child’s dead body, regardless of whether or not the child died before birth or after birth, can be found guilty of this particular offense.

Bigamy, on the other hand, is another offense that is considered a crime against public decency and good morals. It is defined in Nevada Revised Statute section 201.160 to include having two husbands at one time, or having two wives at one time, with the knowledge that the former husband or former wife is still alive.

Under the relevant statute prohibiting bigamy, it is a category D felony for a married person to marry someone else while the married person’s current husband or current wife is still alive. The marriage can be proved by any evidence that is admissible to prove a marriage, and it is not necessary to have a register or a certificate proving the marriage in order for a defendant to be convicted of a bigamy crime.

The burden is on the prosecutor who has pressed charges against a defendant to prove every element of the particular offense with which the defendant has been accused. A defendant does not have to prove he did not commit a crime against public decency in order to avoid being convicted of such an offense. If the defendant introduces reasonable doubt about any element of the crime, the defendant should be acquitted.

An experienced attorney can help a defendant to understand the nature of the offense and to determine if going to court to fight charges is the best course of action likely to result in the most favorable possible outcome. When you are represented by LV Criminal Defense, we are ready to go to court on your behalf, or to negotiate a plea agreement aimed at reducing penalties if trying for an acquittal may not be the best approach to take in light of the evidence against you.