Juvenile Curfew

The Reedsburg City Council adopted a new juvenile curfew ordinance, 9.05(10), on April 26, 2004 and updated it on October 23, 2006. The ordinance can be read in its entirety by clicking on the link below.

The changes result from a January 22, 2004 decision by the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. The information below is designed to summarize the most relevant sections of the revised ordinance.

Prohibited Hours:  No person under the age of 18 shall be or remain in or upon any of the public streets, alleys, or public places of the City between the hours of 10:00pm and 5:00am on Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday nights, prohibited hours are 11:00pm until 5:00am.

Exceptions:  Juveniles who are:

• Accompanied by their parent or guardian;
• On an errand at the direction of parent or guardian, without any detour or stop;
• Traveling to/from employment, without any detour or stop;
• Involved in an emergency;
• On the sidewalk abutting the minor's residence or abutting the next-door neighbor's, if the neighbor did not complain about the minor's presence;
• Attending an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults and sponsored by a civic organization or similar entity taking responsibility for the minor, or traveling to/from such an activity without detour or stop;
• Exercising First Amendment rights such as free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and right of assembly.

Enforcement:  Juveniles in violation of this city ordinance may be fined $5 to $50 plus any applicable court costs. Parents who allow repeated violations of this ordinance may also be fined $5 to $50 plus court costs.