Legal News

Injunction junction, what's its function?

By Richard Binder

Gang injunctions, like the most recent one issued against the Barrio Van Nuys gang, remain controversial in some legal circles.

For supporters, injunctions make neighborhoods safer because gang members can be penalized for actions that otherwise would be legal, such as hanging out in public places, confronting people who disapprove of their lifestyle and wearing clothes meant to show that the gang is a force to be reckoned with.

On the other side, critics worry that gang injunctions can cast too wide a net, criminalizing behavior that is typical among teenagers, but only in minority communities, and lumping small-time delinquents in with hard-core criminals who no longer deserve the benefit of the doubt.

Also, there's the question of just how an injunction will be enforced.  For details on both sides of this issue click here.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on June 29, 2009 (boomark / email).