Mich. Comp. Laws » Michigan Compiled Laws / Chapter 752 / Act 343 of 1984
Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 752.362 (2026)

Definitions; C to O.

✓ current as of July 2026
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OBSCENE MATERIAL


Act 343 of 1984


752.362 Definitions; C to O.

Sec. 2.

    (1) "Contemporary community standards" means the customary limits of candor and decency in this state at or near the time of the alleged violation of this act.

    (2) "Disseminate" means to manufacture, sell, lend, rent, publish, exhibit, or lease to the public for commercial gain or to offer or agree to manufacture, sell, lend, rent, publish, exhibit, or lease to the public for commercial gain.

    (3) "Knowledge of content and character" means having general knowledge of the nature and character of the material involved. Knowledge of content and character may be proven by direct evidence or by circumstantial evidence, or both.

    (4) "Material" means anything tangible that is capable of being used or adapted to arouse prurient interest, whether through the medium of reading, observation, sound, or in any other manner, including but not limited to, anything printed or written, any book, magazine, newspaper, pamphlet, picture, drawing, pictorial representation, motion picture, photograph, video tape, video disk, film, transparency, slide, audiotape, audiodisk, computer tape, or any other medium used to electronically produce or reproduce images on a screen, or any mechanical, chemical, or electronic reproduction. Material includes undeveloped photographs, molds, printing plates, and other latent representational objects whether or not processing or other acts are required to make the content of the material apparent.

    (5) "Obscene" means any material that meets all of the following criteria:

    (a) The average individual, applying contemporary community standards, would find the material, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest.

    (b) The reasonable person would find the material, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

    (c) The material depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way.

History: 1984, Act 343, Eff. Mar. 29, 1985 ;-- Am. 1992, Act 216, Eff. Mar. 31, 1993

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases, 1989–2012 · leading case: Jott, Inc v. Clinton Charter Twp., 569 N.W.2d 841 (Mich. Ct. App. 1997).
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Jott, Inc v. Clinton Charter Twp., 569 N.W.2d 841 (Mich. Ct. App. 1997). “5 to include within the definition of “public nudity” the display of “a female individual’s breast with less than a fully opaque covering of the nipple and areola,” and to expressly exclude from the definition of “public nudity”: (1) “[a] woman’s breastfeeding of a baby whether…”
Ripplinger v. Collins, 868 F.2d 1043 (9th Cir. 1989). “Mich.Comp.Laws § 752.362(3) (Supp.1988) (emphasis added).”
People v. F P Books & News, Inc., 533 N.W.2d 362 (Mich. Ct. App. 1995). “A person has such knowl *208 edge when he or she knows or is aware that the material contains, depicts, or describes sexual conduct whether or not such person has precise knowledge of the specific contents of the material.”
Coleman v. Ann Arbor Transp. Auth., 904 F. Supp. 2d 670 (E.D. Mich. 2012). “Contains material which is obscene, as defined by MCL 752.362, or sexually explicit, as defined by MCL 722.”
City of Cadillac v. Cadillac News & Video, Inc, 562 N.W.2d 267 (Mich. Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 2× “575(1), now MCL 752.362 et seq.-, MSA 28.579(362) et seq.”
People v. F P Books & News, Inc., 520 N.W.2d 346 (Mich. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 2× “[MCL 752.362(3); MSA 28.579(362)(3).] These particular statutory provisions, however, have been amended by the Legislature.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 752.362(3) — 3 cases
Ripplinger v. Collins, 868 F.2d 1043 (9th Cir. 1989). “Mich.Comp.Laws § 752.362(3) (Supp.1988) (emphasis added).”
People v. F P Books & News, Inc., 533 N.W.2d 362 (Mich. Ct. App. 1995). “A person has such knowl *208 edge when he or she knows or is aware that the material contains, depicts, or describes sexual conduct whether or not such person has precise knowledge of the specific contents of the material.”
People v. F P Books & News, Inc., 520 N.W.2d 346 (Mich. Ct. App. 1994). “[MCL 752.362(3); MSA 28.579(362)(3).] These particular statutory provisions, however, have been amended by the Legislature.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 752.362(4) — 1 case
City of Cadillac v. Cadillac News & Video, Inc, 562 N.W.2d 267 (Mich. Ct. App. 1997). “575(1), now MCL 752.362 et seq.-, MSA 28.579(362) et seq.”
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