Criminal Law Keyed to Kadish
City of Chicago v. Morales
Facts
The Chicago City Council enacted the Gang Congregation Ordinance which prohibits gang members from loitering with one another or with other persons in any public place. Commission of the offence involves four things: (1) The police officer must reasonably believe that at least one of the two or more loiterers is a gang member; (2) the persons must be loitering, which is defined as “remaining in any one place with no apparent purpose”; (3) the officer must order all of the persons to disperse; (4) a person must disobey the order. Any person who disobeys the order, regardless of whether he/she is a gang member, is guilty of violating the ordinance. The Illinois Supreme Court held the ordinance to be unconstitutionally vague and the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari.
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