Peyton v. District Columbia

QUINN, Associate Judge. Defendant was convicted by the court of making an obscene and indecent exposure in a public place. 1 The facts brought out at trial were as follows: On the afternoon of June 23, 1953, defendant was seated in his automobile parked on the right side of a road bordering the Anacostia River. The right door of his car was open. On defendant's left was a golf course, and parked in front of him were two other cars, the occupants of which were either seated in their cars or on the grass nearby. To the right of defendant's car was a group of rather dense, lowhanging trees, and a few feet beyond them was the river. A group, including an adult woman, two teen-age girls, and the woman's two young children, was walking on the lawn between the trees and the river. Intending to cross the road, they went between the trees, pushing aside the lowhanging branches. As they emerged they were standing within a few feet of the open door of defendant's car. Defendant was sitting in the driver's seat with his private parts exposed. The group immediately passed by; no words were spoken between them and the defendant.