HomeMy WebLinkAbout1144 07-12-1994ORDINANCE NO. 1144
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE II "CRIMINAL CODE"
OF CHAPTER 50 "OFFENSES" OF THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES, CITY OF EULESS, TEXAS, BY THE ADDITION
THERETO OF A NEW SECTION 50-27 "CURFEW HOURS FOR
MINORS "; PROVIDING CERTAIN DEFINITIONS; CREATING
AN OFFENSE FOR VIOLATION OF CURFEW HOURS BY
MINORS; CREATING AN OFFENSE FOR A PARENT OR
GUARDIAN ALLOWING A MINOR TO VIOLATE CURFEW
HOURS; CREATING AN OFFENSE FOR OWNERS,
OPERATORS AND EMPLOYEES OF BUSINESS
ESTABLISHMENTS ALLOWING MINORS TO VIOLATE
CURFEW HOURS ON THE PREMISES; ESTABLISHING
CERTAIN DEFENSES; PROVIDING A PENALTY OF UP TO
$500.00 PER DAY FOR EACH VIOLATION; PROVIDING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVING CLAUSE;
AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that there has been an increase in
juvenile violence, juvenile gang activity, and crime by persons under the age of 17
years in the City of Euless;
WHEREAS, persons under the age of 17 years are particularly susceptible by
their lack of maturity and experience to participate in unlawful and gang- related
activities and to be victims of older perpetrators of crime;
WHEREAS, the City of Euless has an obligation to provide for the protection of
minors from each other and from other persons, for the enforcement of parental
control over and responsibility for children, for the protection of the general public,
and for the reduction of the incidence of juvenile criminal activities; and
WHEREAS, a curfew for those under the age of 17 years will be in the interest
of the public health, safety and general welfare and will help to attain the foregoing
objectives and to diminish the undesirable impact of such conduct on the citizens of
the City of Euless.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF EULESS, TEXAS:
That Division 1 "Generally" of Article II "Criminal Code" of Chapter 50
"OFFENSES" of the Code of Ordinances, City of Euless, Texas, as amended, be
hereby amended by the addition thereto of a new Section 50 -27 "Curfew Hours for
Minors ", which new section shall hereafter be and read as follows:
ORDINANCE NO. 1144 PAGE 1
Sec. 50-27. Curfew hours for minors.
(a) Definitions. In this section:
(1) CURFEW HOURS means:
(A) 11:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
or Thursday until 6:00 a.m. of the following day; and
(B) 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on any Saturday or Sunday.
(2) EMERGENCY means an unforeseen 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, an automobile accident, or any situation
requiring immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or
loss of life.
(3) ESTABLISHMENT means any privately -owned place of
business operated for a profit to which the public is invited,
including but not limited to any place of amusement or
entertainment.
(4) GUARDIAN means:
(A) a person who, under court order, is the guardian of the
person of a minor; or
(B) a public or private agency with whom a minor has been
placed by a court.
(5) MINOR means any person under 17 years of age.
(6) OPERATOR means any individual, firm, association,
partnership, or corporation operating, managing, or
conducting any establishment. The term includes the
members or partners of an association or partnership and the
officers of a corporation.
(7) PARENT means a person who is:
(A) a natural parent, adoptive parent, or step - parent of
another person; or
(B) at least 18 years of age and authorized by a parent or
guardian to have the care and custody of a minor.
(8) 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, and the common areas of
schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings,
transport facilities, and shops.
ORDINANCE NO. 1144 PAGE 2
(9) REMAIN means to:
(A) linger or stay; or
(B) fail to leave premises when requested to do so by a
police officer or the owner, operator, or other person in
control of the premises.
(10) 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.
(b) Offenses.
(1) A minor commits an offense if he remains in any public place
or on the premises of any establishment within the city during
curfew hours.
(2) A parent or guardian of a minor commits an offense if he
knowingly permits, or by insufficient control allows, the minor
to remain in any public place or on the premises of any
establishment within the city during curfew hours.
(3) The owner, operator, or any employee of an establishment
commits an offense if he knowingly allows a minor to remain
upon the premises of the establishment during curfew hours.
(c) Defenses.
(1) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b) that the
minor was:
(A) accompanied by the minor's parent or guardian;
(B) on an errand at the direction of the minor's parent or
guardian, without any detour or stop;
(C) in a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel;
(D) engaged in an employment activity, or going to or
returning home from an employment activity, without
any detour or stop;
(E) involved in an emergency;
(F) on the sidewalk abutting the minor's residence or
abutting the residence of a next -door neighbor if the
neighbor did not complain to the police department
about the minor's presence;
ORDINANCE NO. 1144 PAGE 3
(G) attending an official school, religious, or other
recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored
by the City of Euless, a civic organization, or another
similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor, or
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 the City
of Euless, a civic organization, or another similar entity
that takes responsibility for the minor;
(H) exercising First Amendment rights protected by the
United States Constitution, such as the free exercise of
religion, freedom of speech, and the right of assembly; or
(I) married or had been married or had disabilities of
minority removed in accordance with Chapter 31 of the
Texas Family Code.
(2) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b)(3) that the
owner, operator, or employee of an establishment promptly
notified the police department that a minor was present on
the premises of the establishment during curfew hours and
refused to leave.
(d) Enforcement.
Before taking any enforcement action under this section, a police
officer shall ask the apparent offender's age and reason for being in
the 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, based on any response and other
circumstances, no defense in Subsection (c) is present.
(e) Penalties.
(1) A person who violates a provision of this chapter is guilty of a
separate offense for each day or part of a day during which
the violation is committed, continued, or permitted. Each
offense, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine not to exceed
$500.
(2) When required by Section 51.08 of the Texas Family Code, as
amended, the municipal court shall waive original jurisdiction
over a minor who violates Subsection (b)(1) of this section and
shall refer the minor to juvenile court.
ORDINANCE NO. 1144 PAGE 4
II.
Severability Clause. That it is hereby declared to be the intention of the City
Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this
ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of
this ordinance shall be declared invalid or unconstitutional by the valid judgment or
decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality
shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and
sections of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City
Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such invalid or
unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section.
III.
Saving Clause. That Chapter 50 and the Code of Ordinances, City of Euless,
Texas, as amended, shall remain in full force and effect, save and except as
amended by this ordinance.
IV.
Penalty for Violation. Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the
terms and provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in an amount not to exceed $500.00. Each
such violation shall be deemed a separate offense and shall be punishable as such
hereunder.
V.
Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after
its passage and publication as provided by the Euless City Charter and the laws of
the State of Texas.
PRESENTED AND GIVEN FIRST READING and approved at a regular meeting
of the Euless City Council on the 12th day of July 1994; by a vote
of 6 ayes, 0 nays and 1 abstentions.
APPR VED:
Mary Lib S h, Mayor
ORDINANCE NO. 1144 PAGE 5
ATTEST:
Susan Crim, C C, City Secretary
563mlib/bh/062894
ORDINANCE NO. 1144 PAGE 6