Chicago police have stopped enforcing the city’s curfew ordinance while officials try to bring the statutes into compliance with a court ruling protecting the 1st Amendment rights of minors.
David Bayless, a police spokesman, said the curfew laws were suspended as of Tuesday because of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit that struck down an Indiana curfew law on grounds that it violated the 1st Amendment rights of juveniles.
“We took a look at that ruling and discovered that our ordinance could be interpreted as more restrictive [than Indiana’s] and so was subject to that ruling,” Bayless said.
Under the city’s statutes, youths younger than 17 have to be off the streets by 10:30 p.m. on weekdays and by 11:30 p.m. on weekends unless accompanied by a person 21 or older. The law exempted young people on the way to or from work or events sponsored by organizations such as schools or churches.
Chicago police typically issue about 40,000 curfew violations a year, said Bayless, who also said the ordinance has been an important tool for protecting young people.
“Curfew is vitally important to us,” Bayless said, noting that last year there were 366 juveniles shot after curfew hours. “That’s about one juvenile shot every night. These enforcement efforts are saving lives. It allows us to take juvenile offenders and potential juvenile victims off the streets.”
Bayless said he hoped the City Council would quickly rewrite the curfew ordinances to comply with the court ruling. Jennifer Hoyle, a spokeswoman for the city’s Law Department, said that’s what city officials planned to do.
“We are in the process of determining what we can do to make the ordinance comply with the ruling,” Hoyle said.
“At this point it’s a matter of law. We have to comply with this,” said Hoyle. “In the meantime, police have other ordinances at their disposal,” such as loitering statutes, she said.
On Wednesday, Mayor Richard Daley added his voice to those calling for a swift reinstatement of the curfew law, which he said is designed to protect innocent youngsters.
Elimination of curfews means that “you put a lot of children in jeopardy,” he asserted. If a youngster is attacked late at night, people will ask, “Why did the Chicago Police Department leave that 9- or 10- or 11-year-old child walking down the street?” he said.
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The federal appeals court decision “is great news” for gangbangers on recruitment drives, Daley said.
Meanwhile, Ald. John Pope (10th) introduced a resolution calling for police officials and the city’s Law Department “to complete preparation of a viable and effective juvenile curfew ordinance as soon as possible.”
The curfew controversy was sparked by the federal appeals court decision Jan. 22 suspending Indiana’s curfew law.
According to court papers, the incident in question took place shortly after 11 p.m. Aug. 26, 1999, when Colin Hodgkins, then a minor, was arrested outside an Indianapolis restaurant. He was given a breath test, was required to submit to a urine sample and was asked personal questions about his family before being released into the custody of his parents 2 1/2 hours after the arrest.
Steven Drizin, professor at Northwestern University School of Law’s children and family justice center said the court’s ruling will put a greater burden on police enforcing a curfew statute.
“In Chicago, police have used curfew to sweep teenagers off the streets,” said Drizin. “The court was concerned that curfew laws give police too much power to arrest now and ask questions later.”
Drizin said he expects new laws will probably demand that police suspect a minor of actual wrongdoing before citing them for curfew violations.
Other cities also are weighing what to do about their curfew laws.
“We are looking at the ruling and evaluating its impact,” said Aurora’s corporation counsel, Patricia Supergan.
Like Chicago, most municipalities exempt minors on their way to or from work or church and school events from a curfew.