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TITLE III COMMUNITY PROTECTION

CHAPTER 5 CURFEW FOR MINORS

3-5-1 – Preamble
3-5-2 – Findings and Purpose
3-5-3 – Definitions
3-5-4 – Offenses
3-5-5 – Defenses
3-5-6 – Enforcement
3-5-7 – Penalty, Municipal Infraction

3-5-1 – PREAMBLE.

The City of Fertile recognizes that all citizens including minors have certain inalienable
rights and that among them are the rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Further, all citizens including minors have the right to freedom of religion, freedom
of speech, freedom of assembly, and of association. This section should be interpreted
to avoid any construction that would result in the appearance of interference with
the free exercise of religious worship and political association and this Ordinance
shall not be construed to mean that the City intends to interfere with a minor’s
freedom of association for political, economic, religious, or cultural matters or
association for purposes such as marches, demonstrations, picketing, or prayer vigils
which are otherwise lawful and peaceful assemblies. (Code of Iowa, Sec. 364.1)

3-5-2 – FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

The City of Fertile has an obligation to provide for the protection of minors from
each other and from other persons, for the enforcement of parental control over
and responsibility for children, for the protection ofthe general public, and for
the reduction of the incidence of juvenile criminal activities.

3-5-3 – DEFINITIONS.

In this chapter:

  1. Curfew hours means 10:01 p.m. until 5:00 a.m.
  2. Emergency means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state
    that calls for immediate action. The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire,
    a natural disaster, an automobile accident, or any situation requiring immediate
    action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life.
  3. Establishment means any privately-owned place of business operated for a profit
    to which the public is invited, including but not limited to any place of amusement
    or entertainment.
  4. Guardian means:
    1. A person who, under court order, is the guardian
      of the person of a minor; or
    2. A public or private agency with whom a minor
      has been placed by a court.
  5. Minor means any person under age 17 years of age.
  6. Operator means any individual, firm, association, partnership, limited liability
    company, or corporation operating, managing, or conducting any establishment. The
    term includes the members or partners of an association or partnership, or members
    or managers of a limited liability company, and the officers of a corporation.
  7. Parent means a person who is:
    1. A biological parent, adoptive parent, or step-parent
      of another person; or
    2. At least 18 years of age and authorized by
      a parent or guardian to have the care and custody of a minor.
  8. Public place means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public
    has access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, and the common
    areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities,
    and shops.
  9. Remain means to:
    1. Linger or stay; or
    2. Fail to leave premises when requested to do
      so by a police officer or the owner, operator, or other person in control of the
      premises.
  10. Serious Bodily Injury means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death
    or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss of impairment
    of the function of any bodily member or organ.

3-5-4 – OFFENSES.

  1. A minor commits an offense if the minor remains in any public place or on the premises
    of any establishment within the City during curfew hours.
  2. A parent or guardian of a minor commits an offense if they knowingly permit, or
    by insufficient control allow, the minor to remain in any public place or on the
    premises of any establishment within the City during curfew hours.
  3. The owner, operator, or any employee of an establishment commits an offense if they knowingly allow a minor to remain upon the premises of any establishment within the City during curfew hours.

3-5-5 – DEFENSES.

  1. It is a defense to prosecution under this chapter that the minor was:
    1. Accompanied by the minor’s parent or guardian;
    2. On an errand at the direction of the minor’s
      parent or guardian, without any detour or stop;
    3. In a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel;
    4. Engaged in an employment activity, or going
      to or returning home from an employment activity, without any detour or stop;
    5. Involved in an emergency;
    6. On the sidewalk abutting the minor’s residence
      or abutting the residence of a next-door neighbor if the neighbor did not complain
      to the police department about the minor’s presence;
    7. Attending an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the City of Fertile, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor, or going to or returning home without any detour or stop, an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the City of Fertile, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor;
    8. Exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution, such. as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and the right of assembly; or
    9. Married or had been married.
  2. It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection 3-5-4(3) that the owner, operator,
    or employee of an establishment promptly notified the police department that a minor
    was present on the premises of the establishment during curfew hours and refused
    to leave.

3-5-6 – ENFORCEMENT.

  1. Before taking any enforcement action under this section, a police officer shall
    ask the apparent offender’s age and reason for being in the public place. The officer
    shall not issue a citation or make an arrest under this section unless the officer
    reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that, based on any response
    and other circumstances, no defense in Section 3-5-5 is present.
  2. A minor who is in violation of this Ordinance shall be reunited with the minor’s
    parent or guardian or custodian or other adult taking the place of the parent or
    shall be taken home by the police officers of the City of Fertile.

3-5-7 – PENALTY, MUNICIPAL INFRACTION.

The violation of this chapter shall be a municipal infraction with penalties not
to exceed those contained in the City Code.

“Editor’s Note: The courts have carefully scrutinized curfew Ordinances and before enacting such an Ordinance, you should consult with your City Attorney. See Maquoketa v. Russell, 484NW2d,179 (Iowa 1992) and Quit v. Strauss, 8F2d 260 (1993).”

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