
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, October 2, 1995                   TAG: 9510020086
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS                                LENGTH: Short

CHANGES TO TEEN CURFEW GIVE PARENTS DISCRETION

City Council has amended a curfew ordinance to address a juvenile judge's concerns that the 3-month-old statute was unconstitutional.

Police officers now will have a bit less discretion enforcing the curfew, and parents and judges will have more, City Attorney Stuart Katz said.

In the new version, there no longer is an exemption from the curfew in cases of ``reasonable necessity,'' a phrase in the original that Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Ronald Bensten thought granted police too much discretion, Katz said.

The ordinance also contains a new clause that exempts children from enforcement if they are on ``legitimate business'' with parental consent.

Vice Mayor Marty Williams said that clause may water down the law. But Katz said the changes are technical in nature and should not undermine the policy's effectiveness.

``I didn't want to run the risk of not being able to continue using the ordinance,'' Katz said.

The ordinance requires children under 14 to be off the streets by 10 p.m. Teens ages 14 to 17 must be in by midnight.

- Associated Press

by CNB