Tex. Codes » Penal Code · TITLE 5. OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON · CHAPTER 21. SEXUAL OFFENSES
Texas Codes

Tex. Penal Code § 21.07 (2026)

Public Lewdness

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section TX-LEGstatutes.capitol.texas.gov Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Sec. 21.07. PUBLIC LEWDNESS.

(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly engages in any of the following acts in a public place or, if not in a public place, the person is reckless about whether another is present who will be offended or alarmed by the person's:

(1) act of sexual intercourse;

(2) act of deviate sexual intercourse; or

(3) act of sexual contact.

(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the actor is civilly committed as a sexually violent predator under Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.

Amended by:

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 739 (S.B. 1232), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 351 (S.B. 1179), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2023.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 61 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1981–2024 · leading case: Salvador Cisneros-Guerrerro v. Eric Holder, Jr., 774 F.3d 1056 (5th Cir. 2014).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Salvador Cisneros-Guerrerro v. Eric Holder, Jr., 774 F.3d 1056 (5th Cir. 2014). · cites it 7× “HIGGINSON, Circuit Judge: Proceeding pro se, Salvador Cisneros-Guerrerro, a native and citizen of Mexico, petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals finding that his prior offense of public lewdness, under Texas Penal Code § 21.07, was categorically a…”
Montana v. Patterson, 894 S.W.2d 812 (Tex. App. 1994). · cites it 2× “In Texas Penal Code, section 21.07: (a) A person commits an offense if he knowingly engages in any of the following acts in a public place or, if not in a public place, he is reckless about whether another person is present who will be offended or alarmed by his act: (1) an act…”
Byrum v. State, 762 S.W.2d 685 (Tex. App. 1988). · cites it 4× “Subsection (a) of the public lewdness statute, Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 21.07 (Vernon 1974), states that "[a] person commits an offense if he knowingly engages in any of the following acts in a public place or, if not in a public place, he is reckless about whether another is…”
Navarro v. State, 241 S.W.3d 77 (Tex. App. 2007). · cites it 2× “Tex Pen.Code Ann. § 21.07(a)(3) (Vernon 2003).”
Granek v. Texas State Bd. of Med. Examiners, 172 S.W.3d 761 (Tex. App. 2005). “See Tex. Pen.Code Ann. §§ 21.07 (West 2003) (public lewdness, classified as misdemeanor), 22.”
Balash v. State, 720 S.W.2d 878 (Tex. App. 1986). · cites it 4× “In her first point of error appellant claims that the public lewdness statute, Tex.Pen.Code Ann. § 21.07 (Vernon 1974), is unconstitutionally vague as applied to this case.”
Steinbach v. State, 979 S.W.2d 836 (Tex. App. 1998). · cites it 2× “See now Tex. Penal code Ann. § 21.07 (West Supp.1994) (unchanged except for minor amendments).”
Murk v. State, 775 S.W.2d 415 (Tex. App. 1989). · cites it 2× “] TEX.PENAL CODE ANN. § 21.07(a)(3) (Vernon 1989).”
Young v. State, 976 S.W.2d 771 (Tex. App. 1998). · cites it 2× “See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 21.07(a)(3) (Vernon 1994).”
RCI Ent. (San Antonio), Inc. D/B/A XTC Cabaret v. City of San Antonio, 373 S.W.3d 589 (Tex. App. 2012). “Tex. Penal Code § 21.07(a). An offense under this section is a Class A misdemean- or.”
Guia v. State, 723 S.W.2d 763 (Tex. App. 1986). “See TEX.PENAL CODE ANN. § 21.07(a)(3) (Vernon 1974).”
Three Expo Events, L.L.C. v. City of Dallas, 182 F. Supp. 3d 614 (N.D. Tex. 2016). “Finally, the very secondary effects that the SOB Ordinance targets, including acts of public lewdness that would violate Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 21.07 (West 2016), actually occurred at the 2015 Exxxotica expo.”
Show all 61 citing cases →
— Tex. Penal Code § 21.07(a) — 2 cases
RCI Ent. (San Antonio), Inc. D/B/A XTC Cabaret v. City of San Antonio, 373 S.W.3d 589 (Tex. App. 2012). “Tex. Penal Code § 21.07(a). An offense under this section is a Class A misdemean- or.”
Adrian Cardona Velasquez v. State (Tex. App. 2018).
— Tex. Penal Code § 21.07(a)(3) — 10 cases
Navarro v. State, 241 S.W.3d 77 (Tex. App. 2007). “Tex Pen.Code Ann. § 21.07(a)(3) (Vernon 2003).”
Byrum v. State, 762 S.W.2d 685 (Tex. App. 1988). “Subsection (a) of the public lewdness statute, Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 21.07 (Vernon 1974), states that "[a] person commits an offense if he knowingly engages in any of the following acts in a public place or, if not in a public place, he is reckless about whether another is…”
Murk v. State, 775 S.W.2d 415 (Tex. App. 1989). “] TEX.PENAL CODE ANN. § 21.07(a)(3) (Vernon 1989).”
Young v. State, 976 S.W.2d 771 (Tex. App. 1998). “See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 21.07(a)(3) (Vernon 1994).”
Guia v. State, 723 S.W.2d 763 (Tex. App. 1986). “See TEX.PENAL CODE ANN. § 21.07(a)(3) (Vernon 1974).”
— Tex. Penal Code § 21.07(b) — 1 case
Iglehart v. State, 47 S.W.3d 185 (Tex. App. 2001).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.