U.S. Supreme Court

by Cheryl Baehr
special to The Current

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt with a wide range of topics this summer, including criminal law and sexual harassment in schools.

In City of Chicago v. Morales, case number 97-1121, the Court found a Chicago city ordinance aimed at gangs to be unconstitutional.

The ordinance held that, "if a police officer suspects a person he believes to be a gang member loitering in public with one or more persons, he shall order them to disperse." Loitering is defined by the ordinance as "remaining in one place with no apparent purpose."

By a vote of 6-3 the Court decided against Chicago. Writing the majority opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens said that not only is the ordinance vague but it "gives police officers absolute discretion in determining what activities constitute loitering."

Stevens wrote that the ordinance "fails to guard against the arbitrary deprivation of liberty".

The Court also heard a case involving sexual harassment in Davis v. Monroe County School Board, case number 97-843. The Court ruled that public schools can be sued and forced to pay damages for failing to stop "student-on-student" sexual harassment.

Davis filed the suit after her fifth grade daughter had been repeatedly harassed by a male classmate. The petitioner said her daughter tried to report the incidents to teachers and administrators but was brushed off.

Writing for the majority, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor stated that the public school may be liable so long as it, "acts with deliberate indifference to known acts of harassment that is so severe, pervasive, and offensive that it effectively bars the victim's access to educational activity or benefit."