Enforced Curfew here in the USA

I didn't know this until I saw this on Yahoo!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060621/ap_on_re_us/new_orleans_curfew
any thoughts, feelings, w/e are welcome.

I would guess most U.S. towns & cities have juvenile curfew laws. The last four I lived in did, at least, and I know most of the cities my friends live in do, all across the U.S.

What purpose, really, does a juvenile have being out after midnight or so?

I've heard of driving laws for teens like this, but outright curfews?

My hometown (Spokane) had a juvenile curfew.

If you can make it illegal for youths to drink, have sex, and drive (not necessarily at the same time), then why can't you legally restrict the hours they can be outside their homes?

There are probably curfew laws in most municipalities that are seldom enforced. They do, however, come in handy when a cop thinks some kid is just out looking for trouble, or has the wrong color skin, or any other thing.

"Disorderly conduct" is the same thing used for adults; it means roughly "You were doing something bad or that I didn't like".

And no, I've never been cited for either.

Pretty common in my neck of the woods.

Like Intro says though, it's rather selectively enforced.

We were out after curfew sometimes in the area around our homes, playing hide and seek or what not, and the cops never said a word, but we were sent home if we had grouped up and were out wandering the streets, especially if we weren't near our own homes.

It's been enforced in my hometown since at least the mid-seventies. I even had a friend who was arrested and booked with "aiding and abetting minor curfew violation." They had to throw out the charges though, as no minors were arrested for violating curfew that night.

Juvenile curfew here too, 10:00PM, not sure why any adult would be against this. Not sure how much it's enforced though. I do know I don't see many kids out late.

Hmm. Not sure why any adult would be against a cur...OMG BBG is a minor!!!!

Thats exactly how it is here. My town has an 11:00pm curfew for anyone under 18 technically, but they also plan school dances that last till midnight, they know prom goers will stay out till dawn if they can. The curfew is something to use when a police officer sees a group of people hanging out in an area they probably shouldn't about to do something they probably shouldn't.... Well, or a girl doing something stupid like walking home at 2 in the morning after sneaking out (one way I got caught as a teen *sighs*).

Minors have a different set of laws for just about everything.

I don't see how a curfew will prevent this type of stuff from happening. I suppose the so called city leaders feel like they have to do something.

i have a son that doesn't qualify as a minor, I just never knew we had these laws around

Considering that they cannot go to nightclubs, bars, or any other place that is open after midnight, that most states prohibit the sale of alcohol after midnight, and that almost all teen social venues are closed by that hour, what could they possibly be doing after about 10pm-12midnight apart from criminal/stupid crap?

So many of the teens that are out that late are burgling houses, harassing other people, and generally being assholes that I don't see any reason NOT to have a curfew.

I knew that already from a previous post. Just yanking your chain.












In response to post 13 btw.

tis a different world from when i grew up, I used to work nights at the local grocery store as a teen during the summers

I dunno, I've done the movie theater till 1 am, hang out at 7-11 for a while, then go down to the beach and swim/bullshit till dawn routine more than once, both before and after my 18th.

I dunno if its so much when as where.

Hookah bars! Coincidently, the midnight curfew is being utilized by the police in their intent to shut down a trendy hangout for affluent suburban teens in my area. Other than the smoothies, the most popular item, ecstacy, is not on the menu. The curfew allows the police the premise to stop kids, search for drugs,and test for alcohol consumption.

From a restaurant review of this place:

So much for human rights or justice eh? under 18 you have no right to be out late and your assumed criminal if you are? Aaron and Merlyn WTF are you smoking? What does a person's age have to do with their rights? We don't have an adult curfew and there are plenty of adults out commiting crimes why should it be different just because a person isn't old enough to vote these idiot's out of office?