Law Banning Drug Offenders at Parks Stayed

A federal judge on Tuesday granted a temporary injunction against a seldom-used Anaheim ordinance that bars convicted drug offenders from city parks.

U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor wrote in a two-page order that a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union “presents important constitutional issues” and suspended the ordinance until the full merits of the case can be heard.

The law, passed by the Anaheim City Council in 1993 to help fight drug problems in city parks, is believed to be the only one of its kind in the nation. It prohibits convicted drug offenders from entering any of the city’s 40 parks for three years after their convictions or release from custody.

ACLU officials say the law violates individual rights of free assembly, expression and association and want the judge to overturn it.

“This law is clearly discriminatory and ineffective, however well-intentioned,” said Mark Silverstein, an attorney for the ACLU. It “penalizes law-abiding people who have paid their debt to society and pose no threat to anyone.”

Silverstein added that he is “pleased that the judge has recognized that we have raised some very serious constitutional issues.”

Anaheim officials expressed disappointment in the judge’s ruling.

“We’re somewhat hopeful because the court has not held the ordinance unconstitutional,” said Deputy City Atty. Moses Johnson. “We feel that after a full hearing, we will be able to have this turned around and get the ordinance upheld.”

The ACLU filed its lawsuit last month on behalf of three organizations that advocate legalizing marijuana in certain medical situations, and three individuals with low-level felony convictions involving the sale of marijuana.

The judge’s order makes it possible for the three plaintiffs to legally attend a rally at La Palma Park in Anaheim on Thursday. The rally has been called to generate support for the Compassionate Use Initiative, a proposed state ballot measure that would expand physicians’ ability to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes.

Anaheim’s law applies to anyone convicted of selling drugs, possessing drugs for sale or, if the offense occurred in a park, possessing drugs. Violation of the ordinance is a misdemeanor. Offenders face a maximum of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The ACLU also wants the city to remove signs posted at each park warning drug offenders they are prohibited.

Taylor ordered that the signs remain until the issue is finally decided. Removal now would be “unduly expensive,” since it could be temporary, he wrote.

The law has been used only four times, and the city is not yet able to say whether it has helped curb drug problems.

“Whether or not the law has been used a lot should not decide whether it is constitutional or not,” Johnson said.

Shortly after Anaheim’s law was passed, some legal experts immediately raised questions about its constitutionality, comparing it to Westminster’s effort to crack down on crime by prohibiting known gang members from associating with one another and Costa Mesa’s attempt to drive out day laborers by prohibiting them from congregating on certain streets.

Both cities’ ordinances were declared unconstitutional after court challenges.