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Lewdness

Black's Law Dictionary · Henry Campbell Black, M.A. · 1910

Black's Law Dictionary

Llcontlousness; an offense against the public economy, when of an an open and notorious character; as by frequenting houses of ill fame, which is an indictable offense or by some grossly scandalous and public indecency, for which the punishment at common law is fine and imprisonment. Wharton. See Brooks v. State, 2 Yerg. (Tenn.) 483; U. S. v. Males (D. C.) 51 Fed. 42; Comin. v. Warded, 128 Mass. 54, 35 Am. Rep. 357; State v. Bauguess, 106 Iowa, 107, 76 N. W. 508.

Open lewdness. Lewd or lascivious behav-Vjr practised without disguise, secrecy, or concealment. The adjective relates to the quality of the act, not to the place nor to the number of spectators. State v. Juneau, 88 Wis. 180, 59 N. W. 580, 24 In In A. 857, 43 Am. St. Rep. 877; State v. Millard, 18 Vt. 574, 46 Am. Dec. 170; Comm. v. Wardell, l28 Mass. 52, 35 Am. Rep. 357.