Unlawful Park Bench Sitting?

The area was called Rivington Playground not Rivington Park. I am not a lawyer, but I don't see a constitutional problem with restricting playgrounds to children and those accompanying them.

that park was a haven for junkies and prostitutes back in the 80's, which may help to explain the reasoning behind the law...

what about if I needed a quick sit for my mild handicapp?

It's that good old Zero Tolerance Policing at work

Just a small query re the legal interpretations that have been discussed. Is it an infringement of the constitutional right to freedom of movement if I can go everywhere but there or there or there (pick your place, it might be a playground, a schoolyard or another place to which most members of the public are not entitled to go) but aside from those places I can go anywhere I wish that's a public place or a private place where there is an implied right to enter (eg a shop). Is that a breach of the constitution?

Just in case this comes across wrong the above question posed with the intention of inviting information, it's not a rhetorical bear trap.

While we, like the Illinois courts, conclude that the ordinance is invalid on its face, we do not rely on the overbreadth doctrine. We agree with the city's submission that the law does not have a sufficiently substantial impact on conduct protected by the First Amendment to render it unconstitutional. The ordinance does not prohibit speech. Because the term "loiter" is defined as remaining in one place "with no apparent purpose," it is also clear that it does not prohibit any form of conduct that is apparently intended to convey a message. By its terms, the ordinance is inapplicable to assemblies that are designed to demonstrate a group's support of, or opposition to, a particular point of view. Cf. Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence, 468 U. S. 288 (1984); Gregory v. Chicago, 394 U. S. 111 (1969). Its impact on the social contact between gang members and others does not impair the First Amendment "right of association" that our cases have recognized. See Dallas v. Stanglin, 490 U. S. 19, 23-25 (1989).

On the other hand, as the United States recognizes, the freedom to loiter for innocent purposes is part of the "liberty" protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 19 We have expressly identified this "right to remove from one place to another according to inclination" as "an attribute of personal liberty" protected by the Constitution. Williams v. Fears, 179 U. S. 270, 274 (1900); see also Papachristou v. Jacksonville, 405 U. S. 156, 164 (1972). 20 Indeed, it is apparent that an individual's decision to remain in a public place of his choice is as much a part of his liberty as the freedom of movement inside frontiers that is "a part of our heritage" Kent v. Dulles, 357 U. S. 116, 126 (1958), or the right to move "to whatsoever place one's own inclination may direct" identified in Blackstone's Commentaries. 1 W. Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 130 (1765). 21

There is no need, however, to decide whether the impact of the Chicago ordinance on constitutionally protected liberty alone would suffice to support a facial challenge under the overbreadth doctrine. Cf. Aptheker v. Secretary of State, 378 U. S. 500, 515-517 (1964) (right to travel); Planned Parenthood of Central Mo. v. Danforth, 428 U. S. 52, 82-83 (1976) (abortion); Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U. S., at 358 -360, nn. 3, 9. For it is clear that the vagueness of this enactment makes a facial challenge appropriate. This is not an ordinance that "simply regulates business behavior and contains a scienter requirement." See Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc., 455 U. S. 489, 499 (1982). It is a criminal law that contains no mens rea requirement, see Colautti v. Franklin , 439 U. S. 379, 395 (1979), and infringes on constitutionally protected rights, see id. , at 391. When vagueness permeates the text of such a law, it is subject to facial attack.

Vagueness may invalidate a criminal law for either of two independent reasons. First, it may fail to provide the kind of notice that will enable ordinary people to understand what conduct it prohibits; second, it may authorize and even encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. See Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U. S., at 357 . Accordingly, we first consider whether the ordinance provides fair notice to the citizen and then discuss its potential for arbitrary enforcement.

Most schools do not allow adults to go into public schools and walk the hallways to see how things are going. (If one has an interest, one could probably get permission to look into a class after clearing it with appropriate authorities.) Are these people being denied there constitutional rights?

While this Court does not accept the First or Fourth Amendment as the proper tool for the disposition of this case, the public, or nonpublic, forum categorization of property that occurs in First Amendment cases is a useful analytical tool. See Hawkins v. City and County of Denver, 170 F.3d 1281, 1286-87 (10th Cir. 1999). Governments control a wide variety of properties with a wide variety of uses. Just as a government's authority to restrict individual speech varies, depending on the nature of the forum, so also should a government's authority to exclude individuals from areas or facilities under its control vary, depending on the nature of the property.

For example, where public streets or parks are concerned, the government's authority to exclude persons is weakest, and a correspondingly high governmental interest must be shown before an individual may be singled out and forced to leave, or prevented from obtaining access to, the area. Such areas are analogous to the public fora of First Amendment jurisprudence, where the government's interest in controlling speech is least strong. See United States v. Grace, 461 U.S. 171, 177, 75 L. Ed. 2d 736, 103 S. Ct. 1702 (1983); Hawkins; see generally Robert C. Post, Between Governance and Management: The History and Theory of the Public Forum, 34 U.C.L.A. L.R. 1713 (1987). Even in these areas, however, where an individual is violating a law, or serious safety concerns are present, some right to limit access should exist. See, e.g., United States v. Chalk, 441 F.2d 1277, 1282 (4th Cir. 1971) (approving temporary night-time curfew imposed as a result of serious civil unrest, despite impact on constitutional rights); Moorhead v. Farrelly, 24 V.I. 329, 727 F.Supp. 193, 200-01 (D.V.I. 1989) (approving temporary curfew imposed to prevent looting and other illegal activity following Hurricane Hugo).

At the other end of the spectrum are publicly-owned facilities designated as limited-access areas, into which only authorized individuals are admitted. Examples of these facilities are myriad, and include properties such as military bases4 or jail and prison property,5 where security must be maintained for the institution to fulfill its purpose; or schools,6 where the facility's purpose could be disrupted by allowing unlimited access to the general public or by unlimited speech. In these areas, the governmental interest in excluding unwanted individuals is at its zenith. These areas are therefore comparable to the non-public fora discussed in First Amendment cases, in which individuals' free-speech rights are weakest.

The Fair, and other publicly-sponsored events such as state university basketball games or music concerts, present a middle ground. These entertainment events are open to any member of the general public who can pay the admission, and access to the events is not restricted to authorized persons, as it is in the case of limited-access facilities. On the other hand, the events are organized and presented for particular purposes or combinations of purposes. Events such as the Fair or the state fair, for example, provide (among other things): (1) entertainment in the form of the rodeo and the carnival rides; (2) education, through the exhibits; and (3) competition in animal husbandry and other skills, in the awards for best livestock, baking contests, and other competitions. See Mood for a Day, 953 F. Supp. at 1261. The government entity sponsoring a fair or concert has an interest in ensuring that the particular purposes for the event are met, and in excluding individuals who are disrupting the event in some manner or who threaten to do so. This is so even if the individuals are not in violation of any law, but are merely violating the rules of the event. Therefore, the government has more authority to exclude individuals from events such as the Fair than from a public street or park.7

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CONCLUSION

This case involves a seemingly trivial matter, the wearing of one's baseball cap backward or forward. However, it raises important issues concerning the extent to which government officials can regulate any activity that might be an indicator of gang presence. Courts have noted that the due process clause protects freedoms "both great and small." See Karr, 460 F.2d at 615, fn. 12. In this case, in the County's effort to prevent any possible problems at the Fair, the County impermissibly infringed on Jerry's liberty to wear his cap as he saw fit. For this reason, the Court will find in favor of Jerry and against the County. A final judgment will be issued following resolution of the damage issue.