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The anti-loitering bill proposed in Montgomery County would be less likely to be found unconstitutional if violators were given civil, rather than criminal, citations, but it still wouldn’t be problem free, according to County Attorney Marc Hansen.
Hansen said two weeks ago that the loitering bill Councilman Phil Andrews, D-Gaithersburg/Rockville, proposed as an alternative to County Executive Ike Leggett’s youth curfew proposal would likely be found unconstitutional. In response, Andrews asked Hansen if removing the criminal penalty attached to a loitering citation would improve the likelihood that the bill would stand up to a challenge.
Although making loitering a civil infraction removes some of the concerns, the bill still could be found to infringe on an individual’s right to travel, said Hansen, a right “as close to the heart of the individual as the choice of what he eats, or wears, or reads,” according to the U.S. Supreme Court.
It also could be found to be overbroad since it gives too much discretion to the police, Hansen said.
The council’s Public Safety Committee is scheduled to discuss and possibly vote on both the loitering and curfew bills Thursday. The full council is set to discuss at least the curfew on Tuesday, though no vote is scheduled.
