SR-8-B (38)
CA atty\mum\strpts\bar\curfew 97
City CouncJl Meeting 7-8-97
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JUL n 8 1997
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Santa MOnica, California
TO Mayor and City Council
FROM City Attorney
SUBJECT An Ordinance Of The City Council Of The City Of
Santa MOnica AmendIng Section 4 08 370 Of The
Santa MOnica Municipal Code Relatlng To Curfews
Introduction
The United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently Issued a deCISion Invalidating
the City of San Diego's curfew ordinance -- Nunez. et al v City of San Diego, F 3d
_ . 1997 WL 304747 (9th Clr) Santa MOnica's curfew ordinance contains some
language Similar to the language found objectionable In Nunez Consequently, thiS office
has prepared an amended curfew ordinance which IS consistent WIth the Nunez deCISion
The recommended ordinance IS attached
DISCUSSion
San Diego's curfew ordinance made It unlawful for a minor to lOiter, Idle, wander, stroll or
play In or upon the publiC streets and publiC places between 10 00 P m and daylight The
ordinance contained four exceptions to Its prohibition For example. It allowed a minor to
be In a publiC place when With hiS or her parent or guardian or when on an emergency
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88
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JUL 0 8 1997
errand directed by his or her parent or guardian The court Invalidated the ordinance on
a number of grounds First. the court held that certain of the ordinance's provIsions were
vague That IS. they were not suffiCiently defined so that the average person could
understand what was prohibited Consequently, the ordinance provided the police with
excessive discretion to decIde whether to stop and arrest Juveniles after the curfew hours
Second, the court held that the ordinance dId not provide exceptions for many leglttmate
activIties such as participation In and travel to or from First Amendment activities Finally,
the court concluded that the ordinance Impermissibly burdened parents' right to rear theIr
children
In the course of rejecting San Dlego's ordinance. the Ninth Circuit cited favorably to a
curfew ordinance adopted by the City of Dallas which withstood challenge In Qutb V
Strauss, 11 F 3d 488 (5th Clr 1993) The Ninth Circuit explamed that the Dallas ordinance
did not suffer from the vagueness InfIrmities that troubled the court, and It provided greater
exceptions for legitimate activities Including partiCipation In First Amendment activities
After the Ninth Circuit deCISion, San Diego chose to adopt a reVised curfew ordinance
which essentially mirrors the Dallas ordInance
Santa MOnica's current curfew ordinance was adopted by the City Council on August 3,
1993 With a sunset provISion of December 31, 1994 The City CounCil eliminated the
sunset proVIsion In November 1994 The curfew was enacted to address problems arising
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as a result of sizable numbers of Juvemles congregating late at night In areas such as the
Promenade, PIer. and parks Some of these groups were confrontational, some
confrontations appeared to be racially motivated, and some of the Juveniles were armed
In 1991 and 1992, 150 Juveniles were arrested between the hours of 10 00 P m and 6 00
a m Since the enactment of the curfew. nighttime Juvenile arrests have dropped
substantIally In 1994, 90 juveniles were arrested dUring those same hours In 1995,68
Juveniles were arrested In 1996, 60 Juveniles were arrested The number of Juveniles
arrested for violent crImes (murder, rape. robbery. and aggravated assault) has also
dropped -- from a high of 28 m 1992 to a low of 16 In 1996 These decreases In the
arrests of Juveniles are substantial They mdlcate that the curfew ordinance has
significantly reduced Juvenile arrests dUring the night
Moreover, since the curfew's adoptlon, the Police Department has not receIved any
complaints regarding the ordinance The Police Department has applied the ordinance
with restraint When Juveniles are In violation of the curfew, they are first adVised by
officers If they comply, no further action IS taken
While the present ordInance has been qUite successful, It IS subject to constitutional
challenge on the same grounds raised In Nunez Consequently, thIS office recommends
that the City Counc!1 adopt the attached ordinance ThIS ordinance IS essentially the same
as the ordinance adopted by San Diego
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RecommendatIon
It IS respectfully recommended that the accompanYing ordInance be Introduced for fIrst
readIng
Prepared By Marsha Jones Moutrle, City Attorney
Barry A Rosenbaum, Deputy City Attorney
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f \atty\munl\Jaws\barry\curiew 97
City Council Meeting 7-8-97
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(City Council Senes)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA
MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 4 08 370 RELATING
TO CURFEWS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN
AS FOLLOWS
SECTION 1 Santa MOnica MunIcipal Code Section 4 08 370 IS amended to read
as follows
Section 4.08.370. Curfew.
{a} Definitions. For purposes of thiS Section, the foHewlng words
or phrases shan have the follOWing meanings
(1) "Curfew hours" means the penod from 10'00 p.m to
6,00 a.m. of the following day on Sunday through Thursday and from 11.00
p m to 6'00 a m of the foHowmg day on Fnday and Saturday
(2) HEmergency" means an unforeseen combination of
circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immedIate a::tlc'" Tre term
includes, but]$ nat Iimlted to, a firet natural disaster, automoblle accident or
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any situation requlring immediate actron to prevent serious bodfty Injury or
loss of life
(3) "Establishment" means any privately-owned place of
business operated for a profit to which the public is invited induding, but not
rimited to, any place of amusement or er, r II I': IIHr~I.t
(4) 'fGuardian" means (i) a person whot under court orderl
fs the guardian of the person of a minor: or (if) a pubHc or private agency
with whom a minor has been ptaced by the court
(5) "Minor" means any person under eighteen (18) years of
age.
(6) IParent" means a person who IS a natural parent,
adoptwe parent, or step-parent of another person,
(7) "Pubtjc place" means any place to which the public or
a substantial group of lhe pubhc has access and includes. but is not limited
to s:ree~s ""i.;ih':.a,s c:r'J tne :~. .~i::;n areas cf schcols ....OSP :81s
apartment houses? off!ce buildlngs+ transport facilities and shops.
(8) ItResponsJble adult" means the person at least eighteen
(18) years of age, authorized by a parent or guardian to have the care and
custody of a minor
(9) HSenous bodily Injury" means bodlfy injury that creates
a substantial fisk of death or that causes death, senous permanent
disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodlfy
2
member or organ
(b)
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It is unlawful for any minor to be present In any
pubffc place or on the premises of any establishment withIn the City of Santa
Momca dunng curfew hours.
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i=ii0fGS5iGi"'i VI vCCu}..iCitieiJi iii 'y.~;hiCh t~L~ iiiiilvi is IS'v'v7u::Y angaged
(3) in a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel,
(4) engaged 10 an employment activity, or gOIng to or
returning home from an employment activity, wlthout any detour or stop;
(5) Involved In an emergency.
(6) on the SIdewalk abutting the minor's reSidence,
(7) attendlOg an cAf cl~i :::~hccl rel,gl~us or other
recreatlonai activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the City of Santa
Monica, a CIVIC organization I or another similar entity that takes responsibility
for the minor, or going to or returning home from, without any detour or stop,
an -official school, religious, or other recreationaf activIty supervised by
:'::I.':LIlt:i Ut,c: ~~om::cr~= by the CI~ 1 .J. S.:'I ...: r~1c' ,.eL1, :3 : '. Ie orgamzat C'I or
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another similar entity that takes responsibility for the mfnor~
(8) exercising First Amendment fights protected by the
United States Constitution;
(9) emancipated pursuant to faw.
(d) :.;';":"'; :;- - -; .:..... =- -,:-::-= =- - ~:.:''' _.. -==.- :-I~ S5::::- a
police officer shan ask the apparent offender's age and reason for bemg In
the pubhc place or on the premises c/ :he 2st:i.chshlilant dL.r1ng curfew
hours
(e} Each violation of this Section shall co -:s ILte a separate
offense.
(f) Any mInor violating the provisions of Section 4.08 370 shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be dealt with in accordance with Juvenile
court law and procedure
SECTION 2 Any provIsion of the Santa Monica Muntclpal Code or appendices
thereto InconSistent with the provIsions of thiS Ordinance. to the extent of such
Inconsistencies and no further. IS hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to
effect the provIsions of thiS Ordmance
SECTION 3 If any section. subsection. sentence, clause, or phrase of thiS
Ordinance IS for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decIsion of any court
of competent JUriSdiction. such decIsion shall not affect the validity of the remaining
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portions of this Ordmance The City Council hereby declares that It would have passed
this Ordinance and each and every section. subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared InvalId or unconstitutional wlthout regard to whether any portIon of the ordinance
would be subsequently declared Invalid or unconstitutional
SECTION 4 The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of
this Ordinance The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once In the official
newspaper within 15 days after Its adoption This Ordinance shall become effective 30
days from Its adoption
APPROVED AS TO FORM
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/}tat ~U,' .
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MARSHA JONES MOUTRIE
City Attorney
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