Irvine Municipal Code Ch. 3 Minors

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

Curfew hours means the period between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following day.

Emergency means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire, natural disaster, automobile accident, or any situation requiring immediate action to prevent serious bodily injury or loss of life.

Establishment means any privately owned place of business within the City operated for a profit to which the public is invited, excluding any place of public entertainment such as an amusement park, movie theater, sporting event, dance or school activity.

Guardian means parent, legal guardian, or other adult person authorized by a parent or legal guardian to have the care and custody of a minor.

Minor means any person under the age of 18 years irrespective of marital status.

Public place means any place within the City to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, and the common areas of schools, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, and shops.

Remain means to:

1. Linger or stay; or

2. Fail to leave premises when requested to do so by a police officer or the owner, operator or other person in control of the premises.

Serious bodily injury means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.

(Code 1976, § IV.L-301; Ord. No. 27, § 36.011, 4-17-72; Ord. No. 04-05, § 2, 6-22-04)

Provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any minor in the military service of the United States.

(Code 1976, § IV.L-302; Ord. No. 27, § 36.012, 4-17-72)

A. A minor commits an offense if he or she remains in a public place or establishment during curfew hours.

B. A parent or legal guardian of a minor commits a curfew violation if he or she knowingly permits, or by insufficient controls allows, the minor to remain in any public place or on the premises of any establishment during curfew hours.

C. The owner, operator, or any employee of an establishment commits a curfew violation if he or she knowingly allows a minor to remain upon the premises of the establishment during curfew hours.

(Code 1976, § IV.L-303; Ord. No. 27, § 36.013, 4-17-72; Ord. No. 04-05, § 2, 6-22-04)

Sections 4-14-303 and 4-14-305 shall not apply when:

A. The minor is accompanied by his or her parent or legal guardian;

B. The minor is involved in an emergency;

C. The minor is going to or coming directly from his or her place of gainful employment or going to or coming directly from a medical appointment, without any detour or stop, or if the minor is in an establishment or public place during curfew hours in the course of his or her employment;

D. The minor is on an errand at the direction of his or her parent or legal guardian, without any detour or stop;

E. The minor is attending an official school, religious or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the City, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor, or going to or returning home from, without any detour or stop, an official school, religious or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the City, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor;

F. The minor is exercising his or her First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and the right of assembly;

G. The minor is in the military service of the United States and conducting official military business;

H. The owner, operator, or employee of an establishment promptly notified the Police Department that a minor was present on the premises of the establishment during curfew hours and refused to leave;

I. The minor is in a motor vehicle traveling to or from, or while conducting, an activity exempted by this Section 4-14-304;

J. The minor is in a motor vehicle and engaging in interstate travel; or

K. An emancipated minor.

(Added in 1998 recodification; Ord. No. 04-05, § 2, 6-22-04)

A. It shall be unlawful for the parent, guardian or other adult person having the care and custody of a minor under the age of 18 years to knowingly permit such minor to remain in a public place or establishment, or to trespass on private property, during curfew hours. The provisions of this section shall not apply in any of the situations set forth in Section 4-14-304.

B. Each violation of the provisions of this section shall constitute a separate offense.

C. It shall not constitute a defense hereto that such parent, guardian or other person having the care and custody of a minor coming within the provisions of this chapter, did not have knowledge of the presence of said minor in or upon any streets, alleys, highways, roads, public places, vacant lots or other unsupervised places in violation of Section 4-14-303 hereof.

(Code 1976, § IV.L-304; Ord. No. 27, § 36.014, 4-17-72; Ord. No. 04-05, § 2, 6-22-04)

It shall be unlawful for any parent, guardian or other adult person having the care and custody of any minor under the age of 14 years to leave said minor at home or any other place without the supervision of a competent and responsible person between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following day.

(Code 1976, § IV.L-305; Ord. No. 27, § 36.015, 4-17-72)

A. Prior to issuing a citation, a police officer shall ask the apparent offender for his or her name, age, home address, and reason for being in the public place or establishment during curfew hours. The officer shall not issue a citation or make an arrest under this section unless the officer reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that, based on any response in the totality of the circumstances, no exception, or defense under Section 4-14-307 is present.

B. If the officer reasonably believes that the apparent offender is a minor and, if after taking all reasonable efforts, the officer cannot confirm otherwise, the officer shall have the authority to take the minor into custody and shall inform the minor of the reasons for such custody. After taking the minor into custody, the officer shall:

1. First, attempt to contact the guardian of the minor and request that he or she pick up and take the minor home.

2. Second, if no contact can be made with the guardian, or if the guardian is not able or refuses to pick up the minor, the officer shall transport the minor to his or her home or to the home of his or her guardian.

3. Third, if the guardian is not home and cannot be otherwise contacted, the officer may take the minor to the Department of Social and Health Services, a licensed youth shelter, or a similar facility.

(Code 1976, § IV.L-306; Ord. No. 27, § 36.016, 4-17-72; Ord. No. 04-05, § 2, 6-22-04)

A minor violating any of the provisions of this chapter hereof shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. A guardian or an owner, operator, or employee of an establishment coming within the provisions of this chapter who violates any provisions herein shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Code 1976, § IV.L-307; Ord. No. 27, § 36.017, 4-17-72; Ord. No. 04-05, § 2, 6-22-04)