public place


public place

a phrase of varying signification around the ideas of a location and the potential for the public or a section of it to be there. So despite this use of apparently plain English, it is often necessary to carry out some degree of legal analysis before being able to arrive at a meaning. The statutory context and the statutory purpose are likely to be influential. See e.g. PROSTITUTES' CARDS, CURFEW. Some statutes deal with the generality by requiring the locus to be specified, as in a designated public place.