The Case:

STATE v. J.P.

HYPOTHETICAL CASE

(This is a make-believe case)

     

        The Chief of Police of Sunshine City notified the City Council that the latest crime statistics show a marked increase in juvenile crimes in the afternoon hours immediately after school is dismissed and that these juvenile crimes occur disproportionately in the neighborhoods surrounding the middle and high schools.  There is no such correlation in juvenile crime in the neighborhoods surrounding the elementary schools.  

        To combat this problem, the City Council has enacted a juvenile curfew ordinance that prohibits juveniles between the ages of 11 and 21 from being in a public place without an accompanying parent or authorized adult from 4 p.m. until 7 a.m. on weekdays and around the clock on weekends and holidays.  Four o’clock was chosen for the beginning of the curfew in order to give middle school and high school students time to get home from school by a direct route.  The seven o’clock end of the curfew gives students plenty of time to arrive at school in the morning by a direct route.  

        The City Council believes that the juveniles who are most likely to commit crimes, as evidenced by the high juvenile crime rate in the neighborhoods surrounding the middle and high schools, will not be able to get into trouble by hanging out or cruising after school.  They will be required to go straight home.  Further, by requiring these juveniles to be accompanied by an adult on weekends and holidays they won’t get into trouble when they have any more free time.  The curfew targets juveniles of middle and high school age, including a little lee way for those who may be a little older when they complete high school.  The curfew does permit exceptions for school-sponsored activities or sports.  The City Council believes that this exception will encourage students to become more involved in school activities and improve their education.

        What kinds of constitutional challenges would students, parents, and others in the community be able to bring against the Sunshine City juvenile curfew ordinance? 

Note:

If you are unfamiliar with any of the words in this lesson, please refer to the glossary.

To access any case from the United States Supreme Court go to: http://www.romingerlegal.com/supreme.htm

To access any case from the Florida Supreme Court decided since September 1995 go to: http://nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu/~lawinfo/flsupct/index.html

 

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