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St. Thomas Law Review

First Page

517

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This article examines the constitutionality of a nocturnal juvenile curfew ordinance enacted in January of 1994 by the Dade County Commission. The ordinance was created in response to the "mounting crisis" of juvenile crime and victimization which plague Dade County, Florida. The Dade County Juvenile Curfew Ordinance ("Dade Curfew Ordinance" or "Ordinance") makes it unlawful for any person under the age of seventeen to be in either a "public" or "semi-public" area during curfew hours, unless exempted by one of the exceptions listed in the Ordinance. The Dade Curfew Ordinance was in effect for approximately one month during which roughly 115 juveniles were detained by law enforcement officers as being possible violators of the curfew. In February of 1994, several juveniles who had been affected by the curfew brought a suit against the County seeking to invalidate the Ordinance. The circuit court found that the Ordinance affected several of the basic fundamental rights guaranteed by Article I of the Florida Constitution and, accordingly, utilized the most heightened form of constitutional scrutiny to review the Ordinance. The circuit court ultimately held that the Dade Curfew Ordinance impermissibly abridged several of the fundamental rights protected under Article I of the Florida Constitution. Having declared the Ordinance unconstitutional, the circuit court entered an injunction permanently enjoining the enforcement of the curfew. The County appealed the circuit court's ruling. The Third District Court of Appeal found that the subject Ordinance did not violate either the United States or the Florida Constitutions, and reversed the trial court's holding.

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