City of Chicago v. Morales
Headline: Chicago's gang-loitering law struck down as unconstitutionally vague, blocking police from ordering people to disperse under a vague 'no apparent purpose' rule and limiting citywide enforcement.
Holding:
- Prevents police from enforcing Chicago's gang-loitering law as written.
- Leads to dismissal or reversal of many arrests under the ordinance.
- Encourages cities to draft narrower laws targeting harmful or gang-member conduct.
Summary
Background
In 1992 the city of Chicago adopted the 'Gang Congregation Ordinance' that made it a crime for a person to remain in a public place 'with no apparent purpose' when an officer reasonably believed at least one person present was a criminal street gang member. The law required officers to order all such persons to disperse; failure to obey carried fines, up to six months in jail, and community service. The police issued over 89,000 dispersal orders and arrested over 42,000 people while enforcing the ordinance. Before enacting the law the city council held hearings and found that visible gang congregations intimidated residents, raised the murder rate, and aggravated violent and drug crimes. The Police Department issued General Order 92-4 to guide enforcement and to designate areas, but the city did not make those designated areas public.
Reasoning
The Supreme Court affirmed the Illinois Supreme Court and held the ordinance unconstitutionally vague. The Court explained that defining loitering as remaining 'with no apparent purpose' fails to give ordinary people fair notice and gives police overly broad, moment-to-moment discretion to order dispersals. The Court declined to base its decision on First Amendment overbreadth because the law does not target speech, and it emphasized that the ordinance contains no mens rea requirement, making facial invalidation appropriate where constitutional liberties are affected.
Real world impact
The ruling prevents Chicago from enforcing the ordinance as written and will affect many past and future arrests under that law; the Court noted alternatives such as laws limited to harmful purpose, laws aimed only at gang members, or laws confined to specific areas. The opinion leaves other criminal statutes and normal police powers intact.
Dissents or concurrances
Several Justices concurred in parts and in the judgment while separate dissents argued the law was a necessary police tool to fight gang intimidation and should not be invalidated as vague.
Opinions in this case:
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