Oakland gang injunction upheld by court

[alp227]

Source: SF Chronicle

(11-01) 17:05 PDT OAKLAND -- Oakland's hotly debated gang injunctions have passed their first legal test.

A state appeals court ruled Monday that a judge's June 2010 order limiting the movements and contacts of 15 alleged gang members in a 100-square-block area of North Oakland, and subjecting them to a 10 p.m. curfew, did not punish them for innocent conduct or violate their rights of speech or association.

"Credible evidence supports the (judge's) conclusion that (North Side Oakland) is a criminal street gang" whose activities have interfered with the public's right to use the area peacefully, said the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco.

City attorneys presented statements from 96 police officers who witnessed the gang's activities, along with crime records and expert assessments that provided "compelling evidence of ... the detrimental effect the gang has had on the community," the court said.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/01/BAII1LP9JV.DTL

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Well, why not just convict those gang members of crimes or help them leave instead of this meaningless pre-emptive curfew?

[Gman]

1. Mainly to show them they don't own the streets

It's a good ruling.

[Occulus]

2. This is a very, very bad ruling.

I don't care how awful these gang members were/are. This sets a precedent, and a very bad one.

This seems to embody the concept of prior restraint. I don't like this one bit.

[msanthrope]

3. They can meet in schools, places of worship, legitimate businesses, and social service agencies.

what they cannot do is this--


"Inside the 100-block “safety zone,” the 15 men on the city attorney’s list would live under a 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. curfew and risk jail time and fines if they violated any one of a series of restrictions. They include:

Do not associate with other gang members in public.

Do not confront, intimidate or assault witnesses.

Do not possess firearms or dangerous weapons.

Stay away from drugs.

No trespassing.

No gang recruitment.

Those who work in the community, including police, say North Side Oakland does not have a traditional gang hierarchy, and many do not consider the group a gang. But a series of gang-related killings last year brought north Oakland to the forefront of the debate."

http://www.baycitizen.org/gang-injunction/story/inside-north-oaklands-safety-zone-fear/

The article at the link is worth a read.

[MaineDeadHead]

4. Say the organizations was different...

how about OWS? Safety zone, no association, no trespassing? Sounds applicable and - in a different context - very undesireable.

[msanthrope]

6. If OWS had a long-standing history of harassing witnesses, encircling and

killing businesses, weapons and drug possession, then I'd say yes....

I think you are slandering OWS, frankly.

[yodermon]

5. isn't this a bill of attainder?n/t