THE NEW LAW OF OHIO FOR ABATEMENT OF

HOUSES OF PROSTITUTION.

EDITOR'S NOTE. - Without much discussion the Ohio Legislature last March enacted into law House Bill No. 499, which may prove to be a most valuable war time measure. It declares places in which lewdness, assignation or prostitution exists to be nuisances and provides for their abatement by injunction proceedings. With many other new acts it became a law on July 1 and now furnishes the instrument by which state and county authorities or any citizen thereof may put out of business, commercialized vice wherever it may seek to establish itself to prey upon the young men gathered together in the military camps of the Buckeye State. The following is a copy of the law:

SECTION I. For the purpose of this act the terms place, person, nuisance are defined as follows: place shall include any building. erection, or place or any separate part or portion thereof or the ground itself; person shall include any individual, corporation, association, partnership, trustee, lessee, agent, or assignee; nuisance shall mean any place as above defined in or upon which lewdness, assignation, or prostitution is conducted, permitted, continued, or exists, and the personal property and contents used in conducting and maintaining any such place for any such purpose.

SECTION 2. Any person who shall use, occupy, establish, or conduct a nuisance as defined in section 1, or aid or abet therein, and the owner, agent, or lesse of any interest in any such nuisance together with the persons employed in or in control of any such nuisance by any such owner, agent, or lessee shall be guilty of maintaining a nuisance and shall be enjoined as hereinafter provided.

SECTION 3. Whenever a nuisance exists the attorney general of the state, the prosecuting attorney of the county, or any person who is a citizen of the county may bring an action in equity in the name of the state of Ohio, upon the relation of such attorney general, prosecuting attorney, or person, to abate such nuisance and to perpetually enjoin the person or persons maintaining the same from further maintenance thereof. If such action is instituted by a person other than the prosecuting attorney, or attorney general, the complainant. shall execute a bond to the person against whom complaint is made. with good and sufficient surety to be approved by the court or clerk thereof, in the sum of not less than five hundred dollars, to secure to the party enjoined the damages he may sustain if such action is wrongfully brought, not prosecuted to final judgment, or is dismissed, or is not maintained, or if it be finally decided that the injunction ought not to have been granted. The party thereby aggrieved by the issuance of such injunction shall have recourse against said bond for all damages suffered, including damage to his property, person or character and including reasonable attorney's fees incurred by him in making defense to said action.

SECTION 4. Such action shall be brought in the common pleas court of the county in which the property is located. At the commencement of the action a verified petition alleging the facts constituting the nuisance shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the

court. After the filing of the petition, application for a temporary injunction may be made to the court or a judge thereof who shall grant a hearing thereon within ten days thereafter. Where such application for a temporary injunction has been made, the court or judge thereof may, on application of the complainant, issue an exparte restraining order restraining the defendant and all other persons from removing or in any manner interfering with the personal property and contents of the place where such nuisance is alleged to exist until the decision of the court or judge granting or refusing such temporary injunction and until the further order of the court theeon. The restraining order may be served by handing to and leaving a copy of said order with any person in charge of such place or residing therein, or by posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous place at or upon one or more of the principal doors or entrances to such place, or by both such delivery and posting. The officer serving such re straining order shall forthwith make and return into court an inventory of the personal property and contents situated in and used in conducting or maintaining such nuisance. Any violation of such restraining order shall be a contempt of court, and where such order is so posted mutilation or removal thereof, while the same remains in force, shall be a contempt of court, provided such posted order contains thereon or therein a notice to that effect. A copy of the complaint together with a notice of the time and place of the hearing of the application for a temporary injunction shall be served upon the defendant at least five days before such hearing. If the hearing be then continued at the instance of any defendant, the temporary writ as prayed shall be granted as a matter of course. If upon hearing the allegations of the petition be sustained to the satisfaction of the court or judge, the court or judge shall issue a temporary injunction withouut additional bond restraining the defendant and any other person or persons from continuing the nuisance. If at the time of granting a temporary injunction, it shall further appear that the person owning, in control, or in charge of the nuisance so enjoined had received five days' notice of the hearing and unless such person shall show to the satisfaction of the court or judge that the nuisance complained of has been abated, or that such person proceeded forthwith to enforce his rights under the provisions of section 12 of this act, the court or judge shall forthwith issue an order closing the place against its use for any purpose of lewdness, assignation or prostitution until final decision shall be rendered on the application for a permanent injunction. Such order shall also continue in effect. for such further period the restraining order above provided if already issued, or, if not so issued, shall include such an order restaining for such period the removal or interference with the personal property and contents located thereat or therein as hereinbefore provided, and such restraining order shall be served and the inventory of such property shall be made and filed as hereinbefore provided; provided, however, that the owner or owners of any real or personal property so closed or restrained or to be closed or restrained may appear at any time between the filing of the peition and the hearing on the applica

tion for a permanent injunction and, upon payment of all costs incurred and upon the filing of a bond by the owner of the real property with sureties to be approved by the clerk in the full value of the property to be ascertained by the court, or, in vacation, by the judge, conditioned that such owner or owners will immediately abate the nuisance and prevent the same from being established or kept until the decision of the court or judge shall have been rendered on the application for a permanent injunction, then and in that case, the court, or judge in vacation, if satisfied of the good faith of the owner of the real property and of innocence on the part of any owner of the personal property of any knowledge of the use of such personal property as a nuisance and that, with reasonable care and diligence, such owner could not have known thereof, shall deliver such real or personal property or both to the respective owners thereof, and discharge or refrain from issuing at the time of the hearing on the application for the temporary injunction, as the case may be, any order or orders closing such real property or restraining the removal or interference with such personal property. The release of any real or personal property under the povisions of this section shall not release it from any judgment, lien, penalty, or liability to which it may be subjected by law.

SECTION 5. The action when brought shall be noticed for trial at the first term of the court and shall have precedence over all other cases except crimes, election contests, or injunctions. In such action evidence of the general reputation of the place or an admission or finding of guilt of any person under the criminal laws against prostitution, lewdness, or assignation at any such place shall be admissible for the purpose of proving the existence of said nuisance and shall be prima facie evidence of such nuisance and of knowledge of and of acquiescence and participation therein on the part of the person or persons charged with maintaining said nuisance as herein defined. If the complaint is filed by a person who is a citizen of the county it shall not be dismissed except upon a sworn statement by the complainant and his or its attorney, setting forth the reasons why the action should be dismissed and the dismissal approved by the prosecuting attorney in writing or in open court. If the court or judge is of the opinion that the action ought not to be dismissed he may direct the prosecuting attorney to prosecute said action to judgment at the expense of the county, and if the action is continued more than one term of court, any person who is a citizen of the county, or has an office therein, or the attorney general or the prosecuting attorney, may be substituted for the complainant and prosecute said action to judgment. If the action is brought by a person who is a citizen of the county and the court finds that there were no reasonable grounds or cause for said action, the costs may be taxed to such person. If the existence of the nuisance be established upon the trial, a judgment shall be entered which shall perpetually enjoin the defendants. and any other person or persons from further maintaining the nuisance at the place complained of and the defendants from maintaining such nuisance elsewhere.

SECTION 6. If the existence of the nuisance be admitted or established in an action as provided in this act, or in a criminal proceeding, an order of abatement shall be entered as a part of the judgment in the case, which order shall direct the removal from the place of all personal property and contents used in conducting the nuisance, and not already released under authority of the court as provided in section 4, and shall direct the sale of such thereof as belong to the. defendants notified or appearing, in the manner provided for the sale of chattels under execution. Such order shall also require the renewal for one year of any bond furnished by the owner of the real property as provided in section 4, or, if not so furnished, shall continue for one year any closing order issued at the time of granting the temporary injunction, or, if no such closing order was then issued, shall include. an order directing the effectual closing of the place against its use for any purpose, and so keeping it closed for a period of one year unless sooner released: provided, however, that the owner of any place so closed and not released under bond as hereinbefore provided may now appear and obtain such release in the manner and upon fulfilling the requirements as hereinbefore provided. The release of the property under the provisions of this section shall not release it from any judgment, lien, penalty, or liability to which it may be subject by law. Owners of unsold personal property and contents so seized must appear and claim same within ten days after such order of abatement is made and prove innocence, to the satisfaction of the court, of any knowledge of said use thereof and that with rasonable care and diligence they could not have known thereof. Every defendant in the action shall be presumed to have had knowledge of the general reputation of the place. If so such innocence be so established, such unsold personal property and contents shall be delivered to the owner, otherwise it shall be sold as hereinbefore provided. For removing and selling the personal property and contents, the officer shall be entitled to charge and receive the same fees as he would for levying upon and selling like property on execution; and for closing the place and keeping it closed, a reasonable sum shall be allowed by the court.

SECTION 7. In case the existence of such nuisance is established in a criminal proceeding, it shall be the duty of the prosecuting attorney to proceed promptly under this act to enforce the provisions and penalties thereof, and the finding of the defendant guilty in such criminal proceedings, unless reversed or set aside, shall be conclusive as against such defendant as to the existence of the nuisance. All moneys collected under this act shall be paid to the county treasurer. The proceeds of the sale of the personal property, as provided in the preceding section, shall be applied in payment of the costs of the action and abatement including the complainant's costs or so much of such proceeds as may be necessary except as hereinafter provided.

SECTION 8. In case of the violation of any injunction or closing order granted under provisions of this act, or of a restraining order or the commission of any contempt of court in proceedings under this act, the court, or, in vacation, a judge thereof, may summarily try and punish the offender. The trial may be had upon affidavits or

either party may demand the production and oral examination of the witnesses. A party found guilty of contempt under the provisions of this act shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

SECTION 9. Whenever a permanent injunction issues against any person or persons for maintaining a nuisance as herein defined, there shall be imposed upon said nuisance and against the person or persons maintaining the same a tax of three hundred dollars; provided, however, that such tax may not be imposed upon the personal property or against the owner or owners thereof who have proven innocence as hereinbefore provided, or upon the real property or against the owner or owners thereof who shall show to the satisfaction of the court or judge thereof at the time of the granting of the permanent injunction, that he or they have in good faith permanently abated the nuisance complained of. The imposition of said tax shall be made by the court as a part of the proceeding and the clerk of said court shall make and certify a return of the imposition of said tax thereon to the county auditor, who shall enter the same as a tax upon the property and against the persons upon which or whom the lien was imposed as and when other taxes are entered, and the same shall be and remain a perpetual lien upon all property, both personal and real, used for the purpose of maintaining said nuisance except as herein excepted until fully paid: provided that any such lien imposed while the tax books are in the hands of the auditor shall be immediately entered therein. The payment of said tax shall not relieve the persons or property from any other taxes provided by law. The provisions of the laws relating to the collection of taxes in this state, the delinquency thereof, and sale of property for taxes shall govern in the collection of the tax herein prescribed in so far as the same are applicable, and the said tax collected shall be applied in payment of any deficiency in the costs of the action and abatement on behalf of the state to the extent of such deficiency after the application thereto of the proceeds of the sale of personal property as hreinbefore provided, and the remainder of said tax together with the unexpended portion of the proceeds of the sale of personal property shall be distributed in the same manner as fines collected for the keeping of houses of illfame.

SECTION 10. When such nuisance has been found to exist under any proceeding as in this act provided, and the owner or agent of such place whereon the same has been found to exist was not a party to such proceeding, nor appeared therein, the said tax of three hundred dollars shall, nevertheless, be imposed against the persons served or appearing and against the property as in this act set forth. But before such tax shall be enforced against such property, the owner or agent thereof shall have appeared therein or shall be served with summons therein, and the provisions of existing laws regarding the service. of process shall apply to service in proceedings under this act. The person in whose name the real estate affected by the action stands on the books of the county auditor for purposes of taxation shall be