Lancaster Adopts New Anti-Loitering Law
The Lancaster City Council has adopted a new anti-loitering law aimed at keeping teen-agers from hanging out at shopping centers. The measure will replace a prior version that a judge ruled unconstitutionally vague last December.
The new law, passed 5 to 0 by the council on Tuesday night, will take effect in about a month. Unlike the prior ordinance, the new law requires that violators must be warned of its provisions before they can be cited. It specifically excludes people conducting business in stores.
In his Dec. 27 ruling, Antelope Valley Municipal Judge Frank Jackson said the vague language in the prior ordinance could have been used to cite shoppers and failed to give adequate warning of prohibited conduct. Violations will remain a misdemeanor.
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