Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville
| Papachristou v. Jacksonville | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued December 8–, 1971 Decided February 24, 1972 | |
| Full case name | Margaret Papachristou et al. v. City of Jacksonville |
| Docket no. | 70-5030 |
| Citations | 405 U.S. 156 (more) 92 S. Ct. 839; 31 L. Ed. 2d 110; 1972 U.S. LEXIS 84 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Certiorari to the District Court of Appeal of Florida, 236 So. 2d 141 (1970) |
| Holding | |
| The court ruled that the Jacksonville vagrancy ordinance was unconstitutionally vague because people do not have fair notice of forbidden behavior and are arbitrarily arrested. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinion | |
| Majority | Douglas, joined by Burger, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun |
| Powell and Rehnquist took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
Papachristou v. Jacksonville, 405 U.S. 156 (1972), was a United States Supreme Court case resulting in a Jacksonville vagrancy ordinance being declared unconstitutionally vague. The case was argued on December 8, 1971, and decided on February 24, 1972. The respondent was the city of Jacksonville, Florida.
Facts
Papachristou was one of eight defendants who were convicted for violating a Jacksonville, Florida, vagrancy ordinance which forbade a large number of activities including "wandering or strolling around from place to place without any lawful purpose or object". The defendants were charged with several violations under the ordinance: being vagabonds, loitering, being common thieves, disorderly loitering, and resisting arrest.
Opinion of the Court
The court held that the vagrancy ordinance was unconstitutionally vague because it gave too much arbitrary power to the police. The court found that the laws could potentially criminalize a variety of innocent activities, such as "Nightwalking," or "habitually living 'without visible means of support.'" A valid law, the Court found, needed to be clearly written and evenly administered.
See also
External links
- Text of Papachristou v. Jacksonville, 405 U.S. 156 (1972) is available from: Findlaw Justia resource.org
- Summary of the case from OYEZ
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