N.Y. Court Upsets Anti-Loitering Law
A New York state law that forbids loitering in subway, train or bus stations is unconstitutional because it puts people too much at the mercy of police, the state’s top court ruled Wednesday.
The law forbids people from sleeping in transportation facilities or staying there without giving authorities a “satisfactory explanation” of what they are doing. The Court of Appeals said the statute failed to give a “person of ordinary intelligence” notice that his conduct is against the law.
The court ruled in favor of two New York City men who were arrested in 1985 for loitering in incidents at Penn Station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
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