The definition of loitering is the act of staying in a particular public place for a long time with no valid purpose. One of the most common of these statutes attempts to curb loitering. In modern times, most jurisdictions have sought to clean up their laws, replacing the vagueness of vagrancy statutes with laws specifically addressing each undesired activity. As in the above example of Florida’s vagrancy laws, failing to clearly state what constitutes a crime leaves room for police officers and judges to arbitrarily enforce or ignore the law. VaguenessĮvery law in the United States must be written in a way that an ordinary person can figure out just what acts are prohibited, or what acts they are required to do, in order to avoid breaking the law. Punishing someone – especially by jailing them – for experiencing a complete financial calamity, or for having a mental or physical illness, or for having become addicted to a drug, is simply unfair, adding insult to injury. ![]() ![]() The idea behind the cruel and unusual punishment issue is that most people aren’t unemployed or homeless because they want to be. Statutes that regulate being something, rather than doing something are laws that govern “status crimes.” Many status laws have been deemed unenforceable by higher courts under two premises: (1) they amount to cruel and unusual punishment, and (2) they are vague. They also prohibit, however, being a certain type of person, such as being: Vagrancy laws, where they exist, prohibit such things as loitering, panhandling, sleeping outdoors in public places, gambling, prostitution, and even fortune telling. Vagrancy and Criminalizing Homelessness and Poverty The Court ruled that Florida’s vagrancy laws could not stand, as they encouraged “arbitrary and erratic arrests and convictions,” giving “unfettered discretion” to the police. While walking, strolling, and wandering may be the setting for certain crimes, it also comprises perfectly normal activities that are none of the police’s business. Further, the Court stated, “We know, however, from experience that sleepless people often walk at night, perhaps hopeful that sleep-inducing relaxation will result.”įlorida’s attempt to specify that the law applied to people “wandering or strolling … without any lawful purpose or object,” or those “neglecting all lawful business and habitually spending their time by frequenting … places where alcoholic beverages are sold or served,” literally encompasses a great many golf club and city club members. In its ruling, the Court made the point that the law’s prohibition against “nightwalking” attempts to make illegal a perfectly normal pastime. The Court voided the laws as being too vague – they did not give a person fair notice that something they were doing was an illegal act. The convictions were appealed, and Florida’s vagrancy laws made their way before the U.S. The police said they were not racially motivated in these arrests, though their charge of “prowling by auto” seemed a stretch. ![]() Jacksonville police saw their vehicle stopped near a used car lot, and questioned all of the young people before arresting them on vague charges related to vagrancy laws. ![]() One night, two white women and two black men, all of whom were employed in some fashion, and most also engaged in educating themselves further, were driving from a restaurant to a nightclub. In 1970, Jacksonville, Florida law deemed “wandering or strolling around from place to place without any lawful purpose or object” illegal. Some states expanded vagrancy laws to include vagrants being habitually drunk, associating with prostitutes, gambling professionally, or living on someone else’s welfare benefits. Arresting someone on a vagrancy charge often had to do with loitering, public drunkenness, or criminal association. In the early 20th century, vagrancy laws made having no visible means of support a misdemeanor. From there, many were taken back into indentured slavery. Without employment, they had no way to pay the fines, so they were interred in convict camps, ostensibly working off their debt. With these laws, homeless, unemployed black Americans could be arrested and fined. In the Southern states, following the Civil War, vagrancy laws were instituted in an attempt to control freed slaves.
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