What is "public nuisance"

Public \Pub"lic\, a. [L. publicus, poblicus, fr. populus people: cf. F. public. See People.]

1. Of or pertaining to the people; belonging to the people; relating to, or affecting, a nation, state, or community; -- opposed to private; as, the public treasury.

   To the public good Private respects must yield.
   --Milton.

   He [Alexander Hamilton] touched the dead corpse of the public credit, and it sprung upon its feet.
   --D. Webster.

2. Open to the knowledge or view of all; general; common; notorious; as, public report; public scandal.

   Joseph, . . . not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
   --Matt. i. 19.

3. Open to common or general use; as, a public road; a public house. ``The public street.'' --Shak. public act or public statute (Law), an act or statute affecting matters of public concern. Of such statutes the courts take judicial notice. Public credit. See under Credit. Public funds. See Fund, 3. Public house, an inn, or house of entertainment. Public law.

   1. See International law, under International.

   2. A public act or statute.

      Public nuisance. (Law) See under Nuisance.

      Public orator. (Eng. Universities) See Orator, 3.

      Public stores, military and naval stores, equipments, etc.

      Public works, all fixed works built by civil engineers for public use, as railways, docks, canals, etc.; but strictly, military and civil engineering works constructed at the public cost.

n. a nuisance that unreasonably interferes with a right that is common to the general public; "a public nuisance offends the public at large" [syn: common nuisance]

In English criminal law, public nuisance is a class of common law offence in which the injury, loss or damage is suffered by the local community as a whole rather than by individual victims.

Public Nuisance was an American rock band from Sacramento, California who were active from 1964-1970, first as Moss & the Rocks, then later as Public Nuisance. In 1965 they recorded the song "There She Goes" as Moss & the Rocks for a single released on the local Icon label (later re-recorded in 1966 for Chattahoochee Records). After changing their name to Public Nuisance in 1967, they began to incorporate psychedelic elements into their sound and a series of mostly unreleased songs recorded at various sessions from 1968-1969 that went for years unissued, but finally saw the light of day in 2002 with the release of the Gotta Survive anthology. Since then, their work, both as Moss & the Rocks and Public Nuisance, has attracted the attention of garage rock and psychedelic enthusiasts worldwide.