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The law, which defined loitering as "remain[ing] in any one place with no apparent purpose", gave police officers a right to disperse such persons. In cases of disobedience, the law provided a punishment by fine, imprisonment, and/or community service.
"'[A] law fails to meet the requirements of the Due Process Clause if it is so vague and standardless that it leaves the public uncertain as to the conduct it prohibits,'" noted Justice Stevens, "[i]f the loitering is in fact harmless and innocent, the dispersal order itself is an unjustified impairment of liberty." —
Critics argue that such ordinances are a criminalization of homelessness, a criminalization of ordinary activities – hence prone to selective enforcement – and unnecessary, since existing, narrowly targeted laws ban the undesirable activities such as aggressive begging, obstruction of sidewalks, loitering, and aggressive pursuit.
It states that loitering for the purposes of engaging in prostitution is a violation, the lowest level of offense, for first-time offenders and a misdemeanor for repeat offenders. ... The new law ...
The fear that this law will target sellers is backed up by an amendment requiring the city's Office of the Inspector General to report arrest numbers "with arrests for prostitution loitering as a ...
Protesters packed city hall to oppose the new rules that impose fines for loitering and illegal camping that could lead to jail time. 'Taking over our city': Brockton City Council OKs laws ...
Mopery (/ ˈ m oʊ p ə r i /) [1] is a vague, informal name for minor offenses. The word is based on the verb to mope, which originally meant "to wander aimlessly"; it only later acquired the sense "to be bored and depressed".
Homeless people find it harder to secure employment, housing, or federal benefits with a criminal record, and therefore penalizing the act of being homeless makes exiting such a situation much more difficult. They may face potential legal repercussions such as fines and jail time for seeking shelter in vehicles (Tennessee) and "loitering". [15]