City of Chicago v. Morales
United States Supreme Court
527 U.S. 41 (1999)
Relevant factsFree
Chicago's ordinance let police order anyone believed to be loitering in public with a suspected gang member — defined as remaining in one place "with no apparent purpose" — to disperse, making it a crime to disobey that order. Morales (defendant) was convicted under the ordinance; Illinois's appellate and supreme courts reversed his conviction, holding the ordinance impermissibly vague under the Due Process Clause, and the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.
IssueFree
Whether a criminal law is unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause on vagueness grounds if it either fails to give adequate notice of prohibited conduct or permits arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.