North Dakota Code 12.1-27.1-01 – Obscenity – Definitions – Dissemination – Classification of offenses
1. A person is guilty of a class C felony if, knowing of its character, the person disseminates obscene material or if the person produces, transports, or sends obscene material with intent that it be disseminated.
Attorney's Note
Under the North Dakota Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class C felony | up to 5 years | up to $10,000 |
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 12.1-27.1-01
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Court: means any of the following courts: the supreme court, a district court, and where relevant, a municipal court. See North Dakota Code 12.1-01-04
- Female: means a girl, woman, or an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Male: means a boy, man, or an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce sperm. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Offense: means conduct for which a term of imprisonment or a fine is authorized by statute after conviction. See North Dakota Code 12.1-01-04
- paper: means any flexible material upon which it is usual to write. See North Dakota Code 1-01-27
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Partnership: includes a limited liability partnership registered under chapter 45-22. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- person: includes , where relevant, a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See North Dakota Code 12.1-01-04
- Sex: means the biological state of being male or female, based on the individual's nonambiguous sex organs, chromosomes, or endogenous hormone profiles at birth. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
2. A person is guilty of a class C felony if the person presents or directs an obscene performance for pecuniary gain or participates in any portion of a performance which contributes to the obscenity of the performance as a whole.
3. A person is guilty of a class C felony if the person, as owner or manager of an establishment licensed under section 5-02-01, permits an obscene performance in the establishment. A person is guilty of a class C felony if that person participates, whether or not for compensation, in an obscene performance in an establishment licensed under section 5-02-01.
4. a. In addition to the penalty provided in subsection 1, 2, or 3, any person who violates subsection 1, 2, or 3 in the course of a commercial or for-profit activity or transaction in which the offender had or shared ownership, control, managerial responsibility, or a financial interest other than wages is subject to the following penalty:
(1) For an individual, a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars; or
(2) For a corporation, limited liability company, association, partnership, or other legal entity, a fine not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars.
b. In addition to the penalty provided in subsection 1, 2, or 3, the court shall impose the following penalty upon the conviction of a person or entity described in subdivision a for a second or subsequent offense under subsection 1, 2, or 3:
(1) For an individual, a fine not to exceed fifty thousand dollars; or
(2) For a corporation, limited liability company, association, partnership, or other legal entity, a fine not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars.
5. As used in this chapter, the terms “obscene material” and “obscene performance” mean material or a performance which:
a. Taken as a whole, the average person, applying contemporary North Dakota standards, would find predominantly appeals to a prurient interest; b. Depicts or describes in a patently offensive manner sexual conduct, whether normal or perverted; and
c. Taken as a whole, the reasonable person would find lacking in serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Whether material or a performance is obscene must be judged with reference to ordinary adults, unless it appears from the character of the material or the circumstances of its dissemination that the material or performance is designed for minors or other specially susceptible audience, in which case the material or performance must be judged with reference to that type of audience.
6. As used in this chapter, “disseminate” means to sell, lease, rent, advertise, broadcast, transmit, exhibit, or distribute for pecuniary gain. “Disseminate” includes any transmission of visual material shown on a cable television system, whether or not accompanied by a soundtrack, and any sound recording played on a cable television system.
7. As used in this chapter, the term “material” means any physical object, including, but not limited to, any type of book, sound recording, film, or picture used as a means of presenting or communicating information, knowledge, sensation, image, or emotion to or through a human being’s receptive senses.
8. As used in this chapter, the term “patently offensive” means so offensive on its face as to affront the contemporary North Dakota standards of decency.
9. As used in this chapter, the term “performance” means any play, dance, or other exhibition presented before an audience.
10. As used in this chapter, the term “prurient interest” means a voyeuristic, lascivious, degrading, shameful, or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion that goes substantially beyond customary limits of candor in description or representation of those matters.
11. As used in this chapter, the term “sexual conduct” means actual or simulated:
a. Sexual intercourse; b. Sodomy; c. Sexual bestiality; d. Masturbation; e. Sadomasochistic abuse; f. Excretion; or
g. Lewd exhibition of the male or female genitals.
As used in this subsection, the term “sodomy” means contact between the penis and the anus, the mouth and the penis, the mouth and the vulva, or the mouth and the anus. As used in this subsection, the term “sadomasochistic abuse” means a depiction or description of flagellation or torture by or upon a person who is nude or clad in undergarments or in a bizarre or revealing costume; or the condition of being fettered, bound, or otherwise physically restrained on the part of one so clothed.
12. As used in this chapter, the term “book” means any book, magazine, pamphlet, newspaper, or other article made out of paper and containing printed, typewritten, or handwritten words.
13. As used in this chapter, “sexually expressive image” means a photograph or visual representation that exhibits a nude or partially denuded human figure, as defined in section 12.1-27.1-03.1, or sexual conduct.