Richard K. Willard

In 1992, Chicago enacted an anti-loitering law that made it a crime for gang members or anyone associated with a gang member to stay in one place “with no apparent purpose.” The Illinois Supreme Court struck down the law in 1995, stating that it arbitrarily restricted personal liberties, but the case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court. In the following viewpoint, written as an amicus curiae brief to the

U.S. Supreme Court for the Center for the Community Interest, Richard K. Willard maintains that gang-loitering laws reduce violence because they help maintain order and prevent more serious crimes. He adds that residents of high-crime areas consider these laws a moderate and effective approach to gang violence. On June 10, 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional. The...