Ord 305 Juvenile CurfewCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS
DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
ORDINANCE NO. 3 05
,4,*V OV-11NANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 908
The City Council of the City of Mendota Heights does hereby ordain as follows:
Section 1. Ordinance No. 908, "AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A CURFEW FOR
MINORS AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION THEREOF," is hereby
amended in its entirety, so that as amended it shall read as follows:
SECTION 1. JUVENILE CURFEW ORDINANCE ADOPTED
The City Council of the City of Mendota Heights hereby adopts by reference
Dakota County Ordinance No. 122, "Juvenile Curfew Ordinance." A copy of the
Dakota County Juvenile Curfew Ordinance shall be marked as "Official Copy"
and kept available for public use in the office of the City Clerk.
Section 2. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its publication
according to law.
Enacted and ordained into an ordinance this Seventh day of November, 1995.
CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS
) Z 0 � � -,e 0,.
Charles E. Mertensotto
Mayor
FIX N 1 *-111;
K�thleen M. Swanson
City Clerk
ORDINANCE NO. 122
DAKOTA COUNTY
JUVENILE CURFEW ORDINANCE
The County Board of Dakota County ordains:
Subd. 1. Purposes and Findings.
(a) The Board of Commissioners of Dakota County finds and
determines that there has been an increase in juvenile violence and
crime by juveniles in the County of Dakota.
(b) Juveniles are particularly susceptible by their lack of
maturity and experience to participate in unlawful activities and to
be victims of older 'perpetrators of crime.
- (c) Because of the foregoing, special and' extenuating
circumstances presently exist within this County that require
special regulation of juveniles within the County in order to
protect them and other persons during the nighttime hours, to aid in
crime prevention, to promote parental supervision and authority over
minors and to decrease juvenile crime rates; and
(d) In accordance with prevailing community standards, this
Ordinance serves to regulate'the conduct of minors in public places
during nighttime hours, to be-effectively and consistently enforced
for the protection of juveniles from each other and from. other
persons, in public places during nighttime hours, for the
enforcement of parental control of, - authority. over, and
responsibility for their children, for the protection of the general
public from nighttime mischief by juveniles, for the reduction in
the. incidents of juvenile criminal-activities, for the furtherance
of family responsibility and for the public good, safety and
welfare; and
(e) It is the intent of the County Board to review and
evaluate ,the need and effect of nighttime curfew . for juveniles set
forth in this ordinance on the incidents of juvenile criminal
activity and protection of juveniles against criminal Activity.
Subd. 2. Authority.
This Ordinance is enacted pursuant to the authority granted
under Minn. Stat. S 145A.05, subd. 7a (1*994).
Subd. 3. Definitions.
(a). "Authorized adult" shall mean any person who is at least
eighteen (18) years'of'age and authorized by a parent or.guardian to
have custody and control of a juvenile.
(b) "County Board" shall mean the Board of Commissioners of
Dakota County.
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(c) "Emergency" means an unf orseen combination of
circumstances or the resulting 'state that calls for immediate
action. The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire, a natural
disaster, or automobile accident or any situation requiring
immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life.
(d) "Juvenile" means a person under the age of eighteen (18)
years. The term does not include persons under 18 who are married
or have been legally emancipated.
"Parent" shall mean any person having legal custody of a
juvenile (i) as natural, adoptive parent, or step-parent; (ii) as a
legal guardian; or (iii) as a person to whom legal custody has been
given by order of the court.
(f) "Public place" means any place to which the public or a
substantial group of the public has access and includes, but is not
limited to, streets, highways, roadways, parks, public recreation,
entertainment or civic facility, schools, and the common areas of
hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities,
and shops.
(g) "Serious bodily injury" means bodily injury that creates a
substantial risk of death or that causes death, serious permanent
disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of
any bodily member or organ.
Subd. 4. Prohibited Acts.
(a) It is unlawful for a juvenile under the age of twelve (12)
to be present in any public place within Dakota County:
(1) any time between 9:00 p.m. on any Sunday,
Monday., Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, and
5:00 a.m. of the following day.
(2) any time between p.m. on any Friday
or Saturday and 5:00 a.m. the following day.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any juvenile age twelve (12) to
fourteen (14) years to be present in any public place within Dakota
County.:
(1) any time between 10:00 p.m. on any Sunday,
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday and 5:00
a.m. of the following day.
(2) any time between 11:00 p.m. on any Friday or
Saturday and 5:00 a.m. on the following day.
(c) It shall be unlawful for any juvenile agefifteen (15) to
seventeen (17) years to be in any public place within Dakota County:
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k.
(1) any time between 11:00
Monday.,.Tuesday, Wednesday,
a.m. of the following day.
p.m. on any Sunday,
or Thursday and 5:00
(2) any time between 12:01 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on
any Saturday or Sunday.
(d) It shall be unlawful for a parent or authorized adult of a
juvenile to knowingly, or through negligent supervision, to
habitually permit such juvenile to be in any public place within the
County during the hours prohibited by Paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of
this Subdivision herein, under circumstances not constituting an
exception to this ordinance as set forth herein. The term
"knowingly" includes knowledge - which a parent or authorized adult
shall reasonably be expected to have concerning the whereabouts of a
juvenile under such person's care.
(e) It shall be unlawful for any person operating or in charge
of any place of amusement or refreshment which is open to the public
to knowingly and habitually permit any juvenile to be in such place
during the hours prohibited by Paragraphs (a) , (b) and (c) of this
Subdivision herein, under circumstances not constituting an
exception to this ordinance as set forth herein. The term "person
operating" shall mean any individual, ' firm, association, partnership
or corporation operating, managing or conducting any such
establishment. The term includes the members.., or partners of an
association or partnership and the officers of a corporation.
Subd. 5. Exceptions.
(1) The following shall constitute valid exceptions to the
operation of the curfew:
(a) at any time, if -a juvenile is accompanied by his or her
parent or an authorized adult;
(b) at any time, if a juvenile is involved in, or attempting
to remedy, alleviate, or respond to an emergency;
(c) if the juvenile is engaged in a lawful employment
activity, or is going to or returning home from his or her place of
employment;.
(d) if the juvenile is attending an official school,
religious, or other social or recreational activity supervised by
adults and sponsored by a city or the county, a civic organization,
or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the
juvenile;
(e) if the juvenile is going to or returning home from,
without any detour or stop, an official school, religious, or other
recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by a city
or the County, a civic organization, or another . similar entity that
takes responsibility for the juvenile;
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(f) if the juvenile is on an errand as. directdd by his or her
parent, without any detour or stop;
(9) if the juvenile is engaged in interstate travel,-
(h) if the juvenile is on the public right-of-way boulevard or
sidewalk abutting the juvenile's residence or abutting the
neighboring property, structure, or residence;
(i) * if the juvenile is- exercising First Amendment rights
protected by the United States Constitution (or those similar rights
protected .by Article. I of the Constitution of the State of
Minnesota), such as free exercise of religion, freedom of speech,.
and the right of assembly; or
(j) if the.-juvenile is homeless or uses a public or semi-
public place as his or her usual place of abode.
(2) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under Subd. 4(e)
that:
(a) the owner, operator or employee of an establishment
promptly notified the police department that a juvenile was present
on the premises of the establishment during curfew hours and refused
to leave.
(b) the owner, operator or employee reasonably and in good
faith relied upon a juvenile's representations of proof of age.
Proof of age may be established pursuant to Minn. Stat. S 340A.503,
subd. 6, or other verifiable means,, including, but not limited to,
school identification cards and birth certificates.
Subd. 6. Enforcement.
Before taking any enforcement action under this section, a
police officer shall ask the apparent offender's age and reason for
being in a ' public place. The, officer shall not issue a citation or
make an arrest under this section unless the officer reasonably
believes that an offense has occurred and. that no exception set
forth in Subdivision 5 is applicable.
Subd. 7. Penalties.
(a) Violation of Subdivision 4(a), (b) and (c) will be
prosecuted pursuant to Minn. Stat. S 260.195 and will be subject to
the penalties therein.
(b) Violation of Subdivision 4(d) or (e) shall be a
misdemeanor.
Subd. 8. Continuing Review and-Evaluation..
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The County Attorney shall prepare and *submit a report annually
to the County Board evaluating violations of this -Section -and the
criminal activity by and against juveniles within the County during
the preceding year. The first report shall be submitted one year
after the effective date of Subdivision 9.
Subd. 9. Severability.
If any court of competent jurisdiction shall adjudge any
provisions of this Ordinance to be invalid, such judgment shall not
affect any other provisions of this Ordinance not specifically
included in said judgment.
Subd. 10. Effective Date.
The effective date of this Ordinance shall be August 1, 1995.
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MD/C94-88a
Jo eph A. Harris, 'Chair
Dakota County Board of commissioners
Date r7 JI - 9<
Attest:
Date
Approve as to fo= and e ecution:
A6sibtant Dakota County Attorney/Date
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