A Centre County District judge, the President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) chapter at Penn State and student government's director of legal affairs all warned Friday against passing the controversial Nuisance Gathering Ordinance.
At a Friday afternoon meeting, Magisterial District Judge Carmine Prestia told the State College Borough Council to be "very careful" in drafting the ordinance.
In its current form, the ordinance could assign criminal responsibility to the host of a party for his or her guests' behavior -- even if the crime is committed off the host's property. Council also began talks on two new ordinances it hopes to pass in conjunction with the proposed Nuisance Gathering Ordinance -- a Second Offense Ordinance and a Public Urination and Defecation Ordinance. The Second Offense Ordinance would offset costs generated when police respond to complaints, fining individuals charged or cited with repeat disorderly conduct or nuisance gathering offenses. The Public Urination and Defecation Ordinance would raise the maximum fine for urinating and defecating in public from $300 to $600. Prestia said he and fellow District Judge Jonathan Grine both think the latter ordinance is unnecessary. He would rather see the maximum fine raised to $1,000 instead of $600, while keeping the minimum fine lower. He said this would give judges leeway to set the fine.
Prestia's advice came the same day that student leaders denounced the ordinance, calling it "unconstitutional" and "overreaching."
In an e-mail to both Mayor Elizabeth Goreham and the council, Penn State ACLU Chapter President Chadd Williams (freshman-political science) wrote that he will work with the Pennsylvania chapter of the ACLU to stop the borough from passing the ordinance.
"The ordinance allows the conviction of a host based only on what his or her guests do, which is a violation of the individuals' right to due process of the law," Williams wrote.
While Williams sent an e-mail, another student showed up at the meeting to have his voice heard -- University Park Undergraduate Association Director of Legal Affairs Matthew Lachman. Lachman's message was similar to Williams', saying that the ordinance was "overly broad and overreaching." He also said the ordinance would not prevent crimes from taking place, but it would assign responsibility to people "who didn't perpetrate those actions."
At the meeting, council members put stickers on a 15-box matrix that displayed how expansive they felt the ordinance should be. Theresa Lafer opted to place stickers in all 15 boxes. She has been a supporter of the ordinance for as long as it has been discussed.
"Enjoying yourself doesn't include encroaching on the rights of others to have a peaceful home," Lafer said.
