Judge Prohibits D.C. Teen Curfew

A federal judge today temporarily prohibited the District of Columbia from enforcing its controversial new curfew law intended to keep teen-agers off the streets.

U.S. District Judge Charles Richey issued a 10-day temporary restraining order at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union, which said the law is overly broad and violates the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution.

The emergency 90-day law, designed to fight drug trafficking and attendant violence, officially went into effect last week, but police had planned to begin enforcing it at 11 p.m. tonight. It would prohibit people under the age of 18 from being on the city’s streets from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weeknights, and midnight to 6 a.m. on weekends. The law would exempt only minors who work at night and could prove it with an affidavit from their parents and employer.