Obscenity Law
RICO-Obscenity Law
Harmful to Minors Law
Public Display of Offensive Material Law
Public Indecency Law
Alcohol Beverage Control Law (dealing with obscenity/nudity/pornography)
Sexually Oriented Business LawCHAPTER 28. CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
ARTICLE 8. OFFENSES RELATING TO MORALS
R.R.S. Neb. § 28-807
§ 28-807. Terms, defined
As used in sections 28-807 to 28-829, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) Adult shall mean any married person or any unmarried person of the age of eighteen years or older;
(2) Commercial film and photographic print processor shall mean any person who for compensation develops exposed photographic film into negatives, slides, or prints or who for compensation makes prints from negatives or slides. The term shall include, but not be limited to, any employee of such a person but shall not include employees of law enforcement agencies and prosecuting attorneys involved in the investigation and prosecution of criminal offenses or to persons involved in legitimate medical, scientific, or educational activities;
(3) Distribute shall mean to transfer possession, whether with or without consideration, by any means;
(4) Disseminate shall mean to manufacture, issue, publish, sell, lend, distribute, transmit, exhibit, or present materials or to offer in person or through an agent or by placing an advertisement for the same, whether with or without consideration, or agree to do the same;
(5) Knowingly shall mean having general knowledge of, reason to know, or a belief or reasonable ground for belief which warrants further inspection or inquiry of the character and content of any material, taken as a whole, described in this section, which is reasonably susceptible to examination by the defendant;
(6) Harmful to minors shall mean that quality of any description or representation, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse, when it (a) predominantly appeals to the prurient, shameful, or morbid interest of minors, (b) is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material for minors, and (c) is lacking in serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors;
(7) Material or work shall mean any book, magazine, newspaper, comic book, pamphlet, or other printed or written material or any picture, drawing, photograph, figure, image, motion picture, whether or not positive or negative exhibited or screened, play, nightclub, live performance, television production, other pictorial representation or electric reproduction, recording transcription, mechanical or otherwise, or other articles, equipment, machines, or materials;
(8) Minor shall mean any unmarried person under the age of eighteen years;
(9) Nudity shall mean the showing of the human, post-pubertal male or female genitals, pubic area, or buttocks with less than a full opaque covering, the depiction of covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, or the showing of the female breast with less than a full opaque covering of any portion thereof below the top of the nipple;
(10) Obscene shall mean (a) that an average person applying contemporary community standards would find that the work, material, conduct, or live performance taken as a whole predominantly appeals to the prurient interest or a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion, (b) the work, material, conduct, or live performance depicts or describes in a patently offensive way sexual conduct specifically set out in sections 28-807 to 28-829, and (c) the work, conduct, material, or live performance taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value;
(11) Place shall mean any building, structure, or place or any separate part or portion thereof or the ground itself;
(12) Person shall mean any individual, partnership, limited liability company, firm, association, corporation, trustee, lessee, agent, assignee, or other legal entity;
(13) Performance, whether with or without consideration, shall mean any play, motion picture, dance, or other exhibition performed before an audience;
(14) Promote shall mean to manufacture, issue, sell, give, provide, lend, mail, deliver, transfer, transmit, publish, distribute, circulate, disseminate, present, exhibit, or place an order for advertising or to knowingly offer in person or through an agent or agree to do the same;
(15) Sexual conduct shall mean acts of masturbation, homosexuality, sodomy, sexual intercourse, or prolonged physical contact with a person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, or buttocks or, if such person is female, breast;
(16) Sexual excitement shall mean the condition of human male or female genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal; and
(17) Sadomasochistic abuse shall mean flagellation or torture by or upon a nude person or a person clad in undergarments, a mask, or a bizarre costume or the condition of being fettered, bound, or otherwise physically restrained when performed to predominantly appeal to the shameful or morbid interest.
§ 28-808. Obscene literature and material; sale to minor, unlawful; penalty
(1) It shall be unlawful for a person knowingly to sell, deliver, distribute, display for sale, or provide to a minor or knowingly to possess with intent to sell, deliver, distribute, display for sale, or provide to a minor:
(a) Any picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, motion picture film, or similar visual representation or image of a person or portion of the human body or any replica, article, or device having the appearance of either male or female genitals which predominantly pruriently, shamefully, or morbidly depicts nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse and which, taken as a whole, is harmful to minors; or
(b) Any book, pamphlet, magazine, printed matter however produced, or sound recording which contains any matter enumerated in subdivision (1)(a) of this section or explicit and detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, or sadomasochistic abuse of a predominantly prurient, shameful, or morbid nature and which, taken as a whole, is harmful to minors.
(2) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor.
§ 28-809. Obscene motion picture, show, or presentation; admit minor; unlawful; penalty
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to exhibit to a minor or knowingly to provide to a minor an admission ticket or pass or knowingly to admit a minor to premises whereon there is exhibited a motion picture, show, or other presentation which, in whole or in part, predominantly pruriently, shamefully, or morbidly depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or sadomasochistic abuse and which, taken as a whole, is harmful to minors.
(2) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor.
§ 28-810. Prosecution; defense
It shall be a defense to a prosecution under sections 28-808 and 28-809 that:
(1) Such person had reasonable cause to believe that the minor involved was eighteen years of age or more, and that such reasonable cause is based on but not limited to the presentation by the minor exhibited to such person of a draft card, driver's license, birth certificate, or other official or apparently official document purporting to establish that such minor was eighteen years of age or more;
(2) The minor was accompanied by his parent or guardian and such person had reasonable cause to believe that the person accompanying the minor was the parent or guardian of that minor;
(3) Such person had reasonable cause to believe that the person was the parent or guardian of the minor; and
(4) Such person's activity falls within the defenses to a prosecution contained in section 28-815.
§ 28-811. False representation; unlawful employment of minor; exceptions; penalty
(1) It shall be unlawful for any minor to falsely represent to any person mentioned in section 28-808 or 28-809, or to his or her agent, that such minor is eighteen years of age or older with the intent to procure any materials set forth in section 28-808 or with the intent to procure such minor's admission to any motion picture, show, or other presentation as set forth in section 28-809.
(2) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly make a false representation to any person mentioned in section 28-808 or 28-809, or to his or her agent, that he or she is the parent or guardian of any minor or that any minor is eighteen years of age with the intent to procure any material set forth in section 28-808 or with the intent to procure such minor's admission to any motion picture, show, or other presentation as set forth in section 28-809.
(3) It shall be unlawful for any person to hire as an employee a minor whose duties it will be to assist in any manner the sale, delivery, distribution, or exhibition of material declared obscene by sections 28-807 to 28-829, except that this section shall not apply if such minor's parents or legal guardian should consent to such employment by giving the employer a written affidavit prior to the minor's employment.
(4) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor.
§ 28-813. Obscene literature or material; prepares; distributes; promotes; penalty
(1) It shall be unlawful for a person knowingly to (a) print, copy, manufacture, prepare, produce, or reproduce obscene material for the purpose of sale or distribution, (b) publish, circulate, sell, rent, lend, transport in interstate commerce, distribute, or exhibit any obscene material, (c) have in his or her possession with intent to sell, rent, lend, transport, or distribute any obscene material, or (d) promote any obscene material or performance.
(2) It shall be unlawful for a person to place an order for any advertising promoting the sale or distribution of material represented or held out to be obscene, whether or not such material exists in fact or is obscene. In all cases in which a charge for a violation of this section is brought against a person who cannot be found in this state, the executive authority of this state may demand extradition of such person from the executive authority of the state in which such person may be found.
(3) A person commits an offense of promoting obscene material if knowing its content and character he or she (a) disseminates for monetary consideration any obscene material, (b) produces, presents, or directs obscene performances for monetary consideration, or (c) participates for monetary consideration in that part of a performance which makes it obscene.
(4) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor. 28-813.
§ 28-813.01. Sexually explicit conduct; visual depiction; unlawful; penalty
(1) It shall be unlawful for a person to knowingly possess any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct, as defined in section 28-1463.02, which has a child, as defined in such section, as one of its participants or portrayed observers.
(2) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a Class IV felony.
§ 28-813.02. Commercial film and photographic print processor; immune from liability; when
Any commercial film and photographic print processor who has knowledge of or observes, within the scope of his or her professional capacity or employment, and who participates in an investigation or the making of any report pertaining to any film, photograph, videotape, negative, or slide depicting a child under the age of eighteen years engaged in an act of sexually explicit conduct, as defined in section 28-1463.02, or participates in a judicial proceeding resulting from such participation shall be immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed, except for maliciously false statements.
§ 28-814. Criminal prosecutions; trial by jury; waiver; instructions to jury; expert witness
(1) Criminal prosecutions involving the ultimate issue of obscenity, as distinguished from the issue of probable cause, shall be tried by jury, unless the defendant shall waive a jury trial in writing or by statement in open court entered in the minutes.
(2) The judge shall instruct the jury that the guidelines in determining whether a work, material, conduct, or live exhibition is obscene are: (a) The average person applying contemporary community standards would find the work taken as a whole goes substantially beyond contemporary limits of candor in description or presentation of such matters and predominantly appeals to the prurient, shameful, or morbid interest; (b) the work depicts in a patently offensive way sexual conduct specifically referred to in sections 28-807 to 28-829; (c) the work as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value; and (d) in applying these guidelines to the determination of whether or not the work, material, conduct or live exhibition is obscene, each element of each guideline must be established beyond a reasonable doubt.
(3) In any proceeding, civil or criminal, under sections 28-807 to 28-829, where there is an issue as to whether or not the matter is obscene, either party shall have the right to introduce, in addition to all other relevant evidence, the testimony of expert witnesses on such issue as to any artistic, literary, scientific, political or other societal value in the determination of the issue of obscenity.
§ 28-815. Prosecution; defense
It shall be a defense to a prosecution under section 28-813 that:
(1) Such person's activity consists of teaching in regularly established and recognized educational institutions, galleries or libraries, or the publication or use of standard textbooks, films, tapes or visual aids of any such institution, or the practice of licensed practitioners of medicine or of pharmacy in their regular business or profession, or the possession by established schools teaching art, or by public art galleries, or artists or models in the necessary line of their art, or to relevant references to, or accounts or portrayal of, nudity, sex, or excretion in religion, art, literature, history, science, medicine, public health, law, the judicial process, law enforcement, education, public libraries, or news reports and news pictures by any form of news media of general circulation;
(2) Such person has no financial interest in an activity, product, or event entitling such person to participate in the promotion, management, proceeds, or profits of the activity, product, or event, and such person's only connection with the activity, product, or event entitles such person to a reasonable salary or wages for services actually rendered; and
(3) The provisions of sections 28-807 to 28-829 with respect to the exhibition or the possession with the intent to exhibit of any obscene film shall not apply to a motion picture projectionist, usher, or ticket taker acting within the scope of his employment if such projectionist, usher, or ticket taker has no financial interest in the place wherein he is so employed. Such person shall be required to give testimony regarding such employment in all judicial proceedings brought under sections 28-807 to 28-829 when granted immunity by the trial judge.
§ 28-816. Violations; declaratory judgment
Any city, village, or county, through its chief law enforcement officer in which a person, firm or corporation violates or is about to violate sections 28-807 to 28-829 or has in his or its possession with intent to so violate, or is about to acquire possession with intent to so violate, any work, material, conduct or live performance which is obscene or an instrument of obscene use, or purports to be for such use or purpose, may maintain an action in the district court against such person, firm or corporation for a declaratory judgment under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act for the purpose of obtaining a judicial determination as to whether or not such work, material, conduct or live performance is obscene.
§ 28-817. Prosecution; temporary restraining order or injunction; when
(1) The plaintiff, after the commencement of such action may, if he deems it necessary in order to prevent the continued use of such work, material, conduct or live performance, request a temporary restraining order or injunction against such person, firm or corporation to prevent the violation or further violation except as provided in this section.
(2) No other temporary restraining order or injunction shall issue in advance of final adjudication by the trial court in actions brought under the provisions of sections 28-816 to 28-818 when the question of whether the work, material, conduct or live performance is obscene is in issue. If an injunction is requested, any party to the action shall be entitled to a trial of the issues within ten calendar days after service of the summons has been completed, and a decision shall be rendered by the court within two judicial days of the conclusion of the trial.
§ 28-818. Order or judgment of injunction; contents
If an order or judgment of injunction be entered, such order or judgment shall contain either a provision directing the person to surrender to the sheriff or police the work, material, conduct or live performance which has been adjudicated to be obscene for seizure and impoundment by the court or to destroy or remove the same from the state. No order or judgment directing such firm, person, corporation or other legal entity to destroy or to remove such work, material, conduct or live performance from the state under such supervision as the court may direct shall issue until after a final judgment has been made as the result of an appeal or in the absence of an appeal. The court shall require satisfactory proof of compliance with such order.
§ 28-819. Action; service of summons; effect
Every person who sells, distributes, or acquires possession with intent to sell, exhibit, or distribute any of the work, material, conduct or live performance described in section 28-808, after service upon him of summons in such action, shall be chargeable with knowledge of the contents thereof in any subsequent prosecution.
§ 28-820. Declaratory judgment; use of
Any person who exhibits, sells or distributes, or is about to exhibit, sell or distribute or has in his or its possession with intent to sell or distribute, or is about to acquire possession with intent to exhibit, sell or distribute, any work, material, conduct or live performance shall, if such person has genuine doubt as to the question of whether such work, material, conduct or live performance is in fact within the terms and provisions of sections 28-807 to 28-829, have the right to bring an action in the district court for declaratory judgment under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act against the appropriate chief law enforcement officer of the city, village or county in which the work, material, conduct or live performance is located or is intended to be disseminated, distributed, or exhibited, for a judicial determination as to whether or not such work, material, conduct or live performance is obscene. Any such action may be consolidated with a pending action brought under the provisions of sections 28-816 to 28-818, and the defendant in any action brought under this section may seek a declaratory judgment or request a temporary restraining order or an injunction therein in accordance with the provisions of sections 28-816 to 28-818.
§ 28-821. Conviction more than twice; continue business dealing in obscene work or conduct; effect
Any person who is convicted more than twice under sections 28-807 to 28-829 and continues to use, occupy, establish or conduct a business selling, distributing, disseminating, or exhibiting any obscene work, material, conduct or live performance shall be deemed to be maintaining a nuisance and shall be enjoined as provided for in sections 28-807 to 28-829.
§ 28-822. Nuisance; action to abate; punished as for contempt; when
Whenever a nuisance exists as provided for in sections 28-807 to 28-829, any city, village, or county, through its chief law enforcement officer, may bring an action in equity to abate such a nuisance and to perpetually enjoin the person maintaining the same from further maintenance thereof. If any person continues to use the building or place for such purpose he shall be punished as for contempt.
§ 28-823. Temporary injunction; where brought; hearing; restraining order; issuance; inventory; rights of owner of property
The action provided for in section 28-821 shall be brought in the district court of the county in which the act of nuisance is being conducted. After filing of the petition, application for a temporary injunction may be made to the district court or judge thereof who shall grant a hearing within ten calendar days after the filing.
When such application for temporary injunction is made, the court or judge thereof may, on application of the complainant, issue a restraining order as otherwise provided for in sections 25-1062 to 25-1080, restraining the defendant and all other persons from removing or in any manner interfering with the personal property and contents of the place where such nuisance is being conducted until the decision of the court or judge granting or refusing such temporary injunction and until the further order of the court thereon. The officers serving such restraining order shall forthwith make and return into court an inventory of the personal property and contents situated in and used in conducting or maintaining such nuisance and further violations of sections 28-807 to 28-829. The owner of any real or personal property closed or restrained or to be closed or restrained may appear between the filing of the complaint and the hearing on the application for permanent injunction, and upon payment of all costs incurred and upon the filing of a bond by the owner of the real property with sureties to be approved by the clerk of the district court in the full value of the property to be ascertained by the court, conditioned that such owner will immediately abate the nuisance and prevent the same from being established or kept until the decision of the court is rendered on the application for a permanent injunction, and the court, if satisfied with the good faith of the owner of the real property and of innocence on the part of the owner of the personal property of any knowledge of the use of such personal property as a nuisance and that, with reasonable care and diligence, such owner could not have known thereof, shall deliver such real or personal property, or both, to the respective owners thereof, and discharge or refrain from issuing at the time of the hearing on the application for the temporary injunction any order closing such real property or restraining the removal or interference with such personal property. The release of any real or personal property under this section shall not release it from any judgment, lien, penalty, or liability to which it may be subjected. In no event shall any work, material, conduct or live performance not adjudicated to be obscene under sections 28-807 to 28-829 be enjoined.
§ 28-824. Trial; precedence; evidence; admissible; existence of nuisance; enjoin defendant
The action provided for in sections 28-807 to 28-829 shall be set down for trial and shall have precedence over all other cases except crimes, election contests, or injunctions. In such action evidence of the general reputation of the place or an admission or finding of guilt of any person under the criminal laws of this state against obscenity at any such place shall be admissible for the purpose of proving the existence of such nuisance and shall be prima facie evidence of such nuisance and of knowledge of and acquiescence and participation therein on the part of the person charged with maintaining such nuisance. If the existence of the nuisance is established upon the trial, a judgment shall be entered which shall perpetually enjoin the defendant or the same defendant acting directly or indirectly through other persons from further maintaining the nuisance at the place complained of or at any other location whether within or without the judicial district of the court hearing such proceedings for a period of three years.
§ 28-827. Material or work; adjudicated obscene; contraband; proceeds of sale to county; other copies; disposal
Material or work introduced in evidence and judicially adjudicated to be obscene is contraband and there are no property rights therein. All monetary consideration received for such work, material, conduct or live performance is recoverable as damages to the county where sold or exhibited. The defendant, as part of the court order, shall be required to remove from the state all other identical copies owned or controlled by such defendant within five days after a court determination of obscenity thereof or the same shall be deemed forfeited to the state for destruction by the state.
§ 28-828. Proceeding, civil or criminal; application to court for copy of material; order; contempt of court, when
In any proceeding, civil or criminal under sections 28-807 to 28-829, the party charged with possession of any obscene material shall be required, upon application by petitioner and order of the court, to provide one copy of such material to petitioner to be used in the preparation and trial of such proceedings. Failure to comply with this section shall be punishable as contempt of court.
§ 28-829. Sections; uniform application; laws and regulations of political subdivisions; void
In order to provide for the uniform application of sections 28-807 to 28-829 within this state, it is intended that the sole and only regulation of the commercial distribution of any work, material, conduct or live performance described as obscene shall be under sections 28-807 to 28-829, and no municipality, county, or other governmental unit within this state shall make any law, ordinance or regulation relating to obscenity, or licenses or taxes respecting the obscene work, material, conduct or live performance as regulated by the state under sections 28-807 to 28-829. All such laws, ordinances, regulations, special or discriminatory taxes, or licenses, whether enacted or issued before or after sections 28-807 to 28-829, shall be void, unenforceable, and of no effect.None.
See Obscenity Law.
Public Display of Offensive Material Law
See Obscenity Law.
See Obscenity Law.
Alcohol Beverage Control Law (dealing with obscenity/nudity/pornography)
None.
Sexually Oriented Business Law
None.