(A) Definitions.
(1)
CURFEW HOURS means 10:00 p.m. of any day until 6:00 a.m. the following day.
(2)
EMERGENCY means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life. 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 to which the public is invited, including but not limited to any place of amusement, entertainment, or recreation.
(4)
GUARDIAN means:
(a) A person who, under court order, is the guardian of the person of a minor;
(b) A public or private agency with whom a minor has been placed by a court; or
(c) A person who is at least eighteen years of age and authorized by a parent or guardian to have the care and custody of a minor.
(5)
MINOR means any person under eighteen years of age.
(6)
PARENT means a person who is a natural parent, adoptive parent, or step-parent of a minor.
(7)
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.
(8)
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 by being present 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 by knowingly permitting, or by insufficient control allowing, the minor to be present in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the city during curfew hours.
(C) Defenses. It is a defense to prosecution under subsection (B) that the minor was:
(1) Accompanied by the minor's parent or guardian;
(2) On an errand at the direction of the minor's parent or guardian, without any detour or stop;
(3) In a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel;
(4) Engaged in a lawful employment activity, or going to or returning home from a lawful employment activity, without detour or stop;
(5) Acting in response to an emergency;
(6) On the sidewalk abutting the minor's residence or abutting the residence which is immediately adjacent to the minor's residence;
(7) Attending an official school, cultural, religious, sports, amusement, entertainment, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the city, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor, or going to or returning directly home from, without detour or stop, an official school, cultural, religious, sports, amusement, entertainment, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the city, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor;
(8) Exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution as it pertains to minors, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and the right of assembly, but subject to all other applicable laws, rules, and regulations; or
(9) Emancipated in accordance with applicable state law.
(D) Enforcement. Before taking action under this section, a police officer shall ask the apparent offender's age and reason for being in the public place or on the premises of the establishment during curfew hours. 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 division (C) is present or applicable.
('83 Code, § 9.28.010) (Am. Ord. 1126, passed 7-2-96) Penalty, see § 10.99