Docket Number: 97-1121
Appealed From: Illinois Supreme Court
Subjects: Street Gangs; Loitering Ordinances

At Issue: Whether Chicago's anti-loitering ordinance aimed at gangs is unconstitutionally vague and restrictive of personal liberty.

Decision: The court said that cities cannot arbitrarily prevent people suspected of being gang members from loitering in public; a Chicago anti-loitering ordinance unconstitutionally failed to draw a line between innocent and harmful hanging out.

• The full text of the Chicago v. Morales decision is available at the FindLaw Internet Legal Resources Web site.

Sources: The Washington Post, Supreme Court, The United States Law Week (a Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. publication)