Court : US Supreme Court
Decided on : Jun-10-1999
Chicago v. Morales - 527 U.S. 41 (1999) OCTOBER TERM, 1998 Syllabus CITY OF CHICAGO v. MORALES ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF ILLINOIS No.97-1121. Argued December 9, 1998-Decided June 10, 1999 Chicago's Gang Congregation Ordinance prohibits "criminal street gang members" from loitering in public places. Under the ordinance, if a police officer observes a person whom he reasonably believes to be a gang member loitering in a public place with one or more persons, he shall order them to disperse. Anyone who does not promptly obey such an order has violated the ordinance. The police department's General Order 92-4 purports to limit officers' enforcement discretion by confining arrest authority to designated officers, establishing detailed criteria for defining street gangs and membership therein, and providing for designated, but publicly undisclosed, enforcement areas. Two trial judges upheld the ordinance's constitutionality, but 11 others ruled it invalid. The Illino...
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