Supreme Court Upholds Public-Housing Loitering Ban June 18, 2003
News Summary
The U.S. Supreme Court says Richmond, Va., has the right to ban nonresidents from public-housing complexes -- a policy aimed at curbing drug-related crime, the Washington Post reported June 16.The justices ruled that Richmond's public-housing officials have the authority to make the streets and sidewalks of the complexes off-limits to nonresidents to prevent drug dealing and related crimes.
Kevin L. Hicks, who was arrested and convicted of trespassing in 1999, had challenged the law. His lawsuit argued that the loitering law violated his constitutional right to free speech.
"Hicks has not shown that the trespass policy as a whole prohibits a 'substantial' amount of protected speech in relation to its many legitimate applications," said Justice Antonin Scalia.
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