When someone gets accused of public indecency, they could face severe punishments. Not only do the consequences mean jail time, fines, or community service, but also consequences in someone’s personal life. Other consequences could include difficulty getting a home loan, getting a job, or even keeping child custody. These issues could affect you for the rest of your life if you get convicted of a crime.
If you receive a public indecency charge, an attorney can help you fight it. A Phoenix public indecency lawyer from Gurion Legal can help you prove your innocence and avoid having a criminal conviction on your record. We want you to have the opportunity to continue living your life without worrying about all the negative consequences of a criminal conviction. Contact our team today to learn more about how we can help you build a defense.
Gurion Legal Can Protect You From a Public Indecency Conviction in Phoenix
If you get charged with public indecency, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will get convicted. Our robust defense strategies, our team of criminal defense attorneys can help you avoid a conviction. These cases can prove complex and often require an individualized legal approach. At Gurion Legal, we provide personalized attention to each case and client.
Once you meet with our team, you can explain your version of events. Then, our attorneys can start building your defense by uncovering a detailed description of what happened.
Our firm can help you with your case in these ways:
- We can provide support through the entirety of your case. Getting a charge for public indecency can feel scary. You might not know who to turn to when you have questions or wonder what the future holds. We can alleviate your fears and offer compassion and support throughout the legal process.
- We can investigate the incident. Our team can review the police report and interview witnesses to determine what happened. We can use the collected evidence to poke holes in the prosecution’s story.
- We can provide guidance on whether to accept the plea deal. Typically, the prosecution could offer a plea deal. Our team can advise on if you should accept it or not. We can prepare your case for a trial if you do not want to accept the plea deal.
- We can defend you in a trial. We can represent you if the plea deal is inappropriate and you wish to go to trial. Throughout the trial, our attorneys can present evidence and prove you did not commit the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
Our team can fight for you to avoid a conviction and move on with your life. Getting charged with public indecency doesn’t mean you have to live with a conviction for the rest of your life. Let our attorneys help you avoid it altogether.
We Can Strategize a Defense
The key to winning a public indecency case involves strategizing an effective defense. We could use several potential defenses to help keep you from a conviction. We can personalize the strategy to fit the needs of your case based on the evidence collected and witness testimony.
Possible defense strategies we could use include:
- Disputing eyewitness testimony. We can explain what the person thought they saw. If someone states they saw private parts of your body in public, we could explain how that wasn’t what they saw. If something else looked like a private body part, we could show the court that the witness saw something else.
- We can challenge whether the witness had a good line of site. If they were far away or had something in the way of their view, they might have thought they saw something more than what was there.
- The witness made a false claim against you. Sometimes, people try to harm others by making false claims. If this happens to you, we can prove they had the intent and motivation to make a false claim against you and work to throw out the case entirely.
- The authorities have a case of mistaken identity. The person who filed the claim could have mistaken you for someone else. If so, our team can investigate who they saw perform the behaviors.
These are just a few defenses we could use in your case. Based on the circumstances and other relevant factors, we can personalize your defense to meet the needs of your case.
Having an attorney defend you through these charges can give you a better chance at either having the charges dropped or avoiding a conviction. Our Phoenix public indecency attorneys can work tirelessly to do everything in our power to make this problem disappear for you. We understand this can prove a stressful situation, and we can provide support throughout the process so you don’t feel alone.
What Is Public Indecency in Phoenix?
Public indecency refers to any type of activity that involves nudity or sexual activity while in public. This may include indecent exposure, public sexual indecency, or obscenity. Depending on the severity of these crimes, you could get charged with a felony or misdemeanor.
Indecent Exposure
Indecent exposure refers to the deliberate exposure of the private parts of the body to the public. It is contrary to the standards of appropriate behavior. If someone exposes their genital area, breasts, or buttocks, they could face a public indecency charge. The law considers indecent exposure when someone performs an act they know would cause alarm.
State law says these acts could constitute indecent exposure:
- The person exposes their genitals, anus, or the areola of their breast while knowing the other person present would feel offended because of the act.
- Indecent exposure does not include a woman breastfeeding an infant.
Depending on the circumstances, someone charged with indecent exposure could get either a felony or a misdemeanor. The penalties depend on the age of the victim and the number of prior convictions the offender had.
Public Sexual Indecency
Public sexual indecency refers to when someone exhibits a sex act or sexually offensive behavior in a publicly visible location. It is typically a sexual act offensive to community standards and decency.
The charges and punishments can prove much more severe if this conduct involves a minor. These acts are illegal with children because they are too young to consent or understand sexual activity.
Conduct that constitutes public sexual indecency could include:
- Sexual acts, including but not limited to intercourse
- Sexual groping
- Touching oneself sexually
- Bestiality
Obscenity
The First Amendment right to free speech does not protect obscenity. Violations of these laws constitute criminal offenses. There are three parts used to determine if a behavior constitutes obscenity.
These parts include:
- The behavior appeals to prurient interests based on community standards.
- It depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way.
- It lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Authorities could charge you with obscenity if they feel your alleged actions satisfy these three criteria.
Punishments for Public Indecency in Phoenix
Public sexual indecency laws in Arizona state anyone who intentionally and knowingly participates in these behaviors can face punishment under the law. Public sexual indecency is a Class 1 misdemeanor. When a minor is involved, defendants face a Class 5 felony. As mentioned, when minors are affected, the charges and punishments increase.
Suppose someone gets convicted of a felony violation for public indecency and has two or more prior felony convictions for the same crime.
In that case, they could face prison sentences if they get caught performing acts considered public sexual indecency with a minor:
- A minimum eight-year prison sentence
- A maximum of 10 to 12 years in prison
- As much as 15 years in prison with aggravated charges
Punishment for indecent exposure comes with similar penalties. If convicted, you could face a Class 1 misdemeanor. However, those convicted for indecent exposure involving a minor may face a Class 6 felony.
Not only could you face prison time if convicted of these crimes, but other long-term consequences could affect you. For example, you could have to deal with financial and personal consequences. Our Phoenix public indecency lawyers can help you to avoid the legal and personal consequences a conviction could bring.
The Long-Term Consequences of a Criminal Conviction
After someone gets convicted of a crime, they might believe that once they serve their jail time or pay the fines, they can return to normal life. Unfortunately, for many people, this isn’t true. Many long-term consequences can result that people don’t think of when they have a criminal conviction on their record. This could happen if the crime is a misdemeanor or felony offense.
The following consequences could affect someone for the rest of their life after getting a conviction on their record:
- Finding employment: Many types of jobs, especially ones involving children, prove off limits with a sex offense conviction. Once the employer completes a background check, they could remove you from consideration if they see a criminal history. Other employers might choose someone without a criminal background over someone with one.
- Keeping employment: If you already have a job and the employer finds out about the conviction, they could fire you. This could happen because of your criminal history or because they need to fill the position while you’re serving jail time.
- Getting a loan: During the loan application process, the bank could run a background check and see a conviction on your record. If they see this, they could deny your loan application. This can make it difficult to purchase things you need, such as a car.
- College admissions: If you’re looking to further your education by returning to college, you could find it more difficult with a criminal conviction on your record. If the admissions team has to choose between you and someone else, they could choose someone without a criminal record.
- Renting a home: Landlords typically run background checks on prospective tenants. In some cases, they will not want to rent to someone with a criminal history, making it difficult to find housing to rent.
- Buying a home: Similar to applying for a loan, the bank could see a criminal history and deny a loan application when you apply for a mortgage. This can make it difficult to purchase a home.
- Civil penalties: You could face several civil penalties after a criminal conviction. These include losing your right to vote, serving on a jury, and obtaining a gun or joining the U.S. Armed Forces. You could also lose the ability to obtain a commercial driver’s license.
- Gaining child custody: A criminal record can pose a huge issue when trying to gain or keep custody of a child.
- Professional licenses: Licensing agencies have enormous discretion when providing licenses to ex-offenders. You may not have the ability to join certain professions.
- Travel restrictions: A misdemeanor conviction could prohibit you from traveling to other countries. Some countries, some as close as Canada, refuse to let people with criminal convictions into their country.
On top of these consequences, a conviction could also affect your relationships with your friends and family members. For example, if you’re convicted, they might want you to stay away from their children or themselves.
This is why you should do everything you can to avoid a conviction. Our attorneys can provide legal representation that can offer you a chance of avoiding this outcome.
Contact Our Phoenix Public Indecency Lawyers For a Strong Defense
When facing possible jail time and large fines, you may want a strong legal advocate by your side. Our team can develop a defensive strategy to prove the prosecution’s story is wrong. We can provide legal guidance and keep you informed of your options all along the way. When you choose Gurion Legal to represent you, we can give you confidence that you can reach a successful outcome.
Contact Gurion Legal for a free consultation at (480) 800-0020. During the consultation, we can hear your side of the story and explain your legal options. In addition, we can describe how our criminal defense attorneys can help you and provide legal support throughout the case. You can learn about your case at no cost.
