Brick Council Moves to Repeal Old Loitering Law

New Jersey residents have had the right to loiter since 1979, but a law on the books in Brick has said otherwise. Now, it's finally being repealed.

The township council took the first step at its May 17 meeting to repeal the township's loitering ordinance, which has been unenforceable for the last 32 years, according to John Paff, a member of the state Libertarian Party who has chaired the party's Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project.

"I'm glad they're doing it," Paff said. "A lot of towns never do it. They pass new stuff, but never get rid of old stuff."

Brick's move to rid itself of the law comes after a review of various land use ordinances in town by Councilman Dan Toth, who agreed that the loitering regulations on the books in Brick wouldn't pass legal muster.

"Slowly, but methodically, we’re trying to go through our land use types of laws to see if they are enforceable," said Toth. "Our loitering ordinance is not enforceable or constitutionally correct."

While the act of loitering in order to sell drugs is illegal statewide in New Jersey, the simple act of remaining idle in puclic is not, according to Township Attorney Jean Cipriani.

Paff said that the state Legislature passed a comprehensive criminal code in 1979 that pre-empted local laws. Since loitering was specifically left out of the state's criminal code, courts considered the act legal statewide regardless of individual municipal ordinances. The New Jersey Supreme Court upheld that notion in 1982 when it struck down Newark's loitering ordinance using that reasoning.

But in many towns, Paff said, loitering ordinances have remained.

"The ordinances are clearly unenforceable, and they confuse people - including the police," Paff said, explaining that a person mistakenly arrested or ticketed for loitering could turn and sue the township. "The laws against loitering were so often abused or misunderstood. It used to be just too easy to pick on certain groups."

The council passed the repeal ordinance on first reading at the May 17 meeting. As with all ordinances, a public hearing and final vote will take place at the council's next meeting.