Thread: N.C.: ACLU skeptical of anti-lingering rule

ACLU skeptical of anti-lingering rule
Nov 22, 2007

The ACLU of North Carolina told Carrboro that the ordinance passed Tuesday was vague and may be illegal
Jessica Rocha and Meiling Arounnarath, Staff Writers

CARRBORO - The day after town leaders passed an anti-lingering ordinance, a civil rights group said Wednesday it might challenge the measure as unconstitutional.
Town Attorney Mike Brough consulted the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina while drafting the ordinance. It's meant to deal with increasing complaints about open drinking, urination and harassment at a corner where day laborers gather to find work.

In a letter, the ACLU told Brough last month it considered the ordinance too vague and possibly illegal.

The town contacted experts at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government and Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall, who disagreed with the ACLU, Brough said.

"The town is not trying to pick a fight with anybody," Brough said. He added that the police don't expect to use the new law except when necessary.

Brough said it's difficult to compare the ordinance to other communities' anti-loitering rules because they're all written differently. Experts couldn't find case law that would prohibit the ordinance, he said.

Crafted to deal with complaints about mostly Hispanic men who spend hours at Jones Ferry and Davie roads, it says "no person may stand, sit, recline, linger or otherwise remain within the area ... between the hours of 11 a.m. and 5 a.m. [the next day]."

The Board of Aldermen adopted the ordinance 4-1 Tuesday night. Alderman John Herrera cast the dissenting vote; Aldermen Joal Broun and Dan Coleman were absent.

For years, day laborers have gone to the spot daily to find work, often in construction or farming.

Other people who aren't looking for work hang around the area while drinking alcohol, harassing people or urinating on surrounding property, some neighbors say.

The new time restrictions won't hinder most of the day laborers, who typically find work by 11 a.m., according to town officials.

But Katherine Parker, the ACLU-NC's legal director, said the ordinance could inhibit the constitutional right to travel and could be used to punish otherwise legal activities, such as leafleting. It also targets Hispanics because they gather at the corner, she said.

Brough disagreed. People can move through the site, and the ordinance prohibits all people regardless of ethnicity from hanging out there outside of designated hours, he said.

When asked whether the ACLU will take any action, Parker said, "We can't take any action unless we had a client. But if we had a client that was charged under this ordinance, then we would consider it."

Brough said he hopes that doesn't happen.

"It kind of gets down to, is there a constitutional right to be hanging out on that particular location? It's hard to see that rising to the level of a constitutional right."

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/785700.html

Other people who aren't looking for work hang around the area while drinking alcohol, harassing people or urinating on surrounding property, some neighbors say.

Doesn't urinating on surrounding property constitute a form of indecent exposure?

Originally Posted by MyAmerica

Other people who aren't looking for work hang around the area while drinking alcohol, harassing people or urinating on surrounding property, some neighbors say.

Doesn't urinating on surrounding property constitute a form of indecent exposure?

Yes.

I'm so sick of this stuff. Why don't we all just get a bunch of beers, go down to the local ACLU office, throw the cans on their lawn, drop our drawers and urinate on their lawn? I'd love to see their reaction.

This is hoot. ACLU vs. Carrboro, likely the most liberal(oops, I mean progressive) town in NC.

They need to do something about the defacto day labor site. I went to the town meeting when it was discussed. I heard there were several cases where women were harrassed by the lingerers.

The corner is a real eye sore and folks were really upset by the sense that the town wasn't addressing the real problem. We will see if the enforce the ordinance. There was also discussions about moving the site to town commons.