STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State University said nearly 30,000 individuals may have had their Social Security numbers exposed because of a privacy breach caused by infected university computers.
Proposed act unconstitutional, group says
Mike Joseph
STATE COLLEGE — A proposed borough ordinance to curb the impact of rowdy parties by holding hosts responsible for the illegal activities of guests has come under fire from a national organization that advocates individual rights.
The American Civil Liberties Union told State College in a letter Friday that the borough’s proposed “nuisance gathering ordinance,” which is scheduled for a public hearing Monday night, violates the U.S. Constitution.
Sara Ganim
STATE COLLEGE — Scott Marion never thought selling $35 worth of marijuana to a college buddy might land him in state prison for more than two years.
Sentencing guidelines for that kind of crime call for probation to 30 days in county jail — with one huge exception.
If you are caught selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school, state law says prosecutors can seek a two-year mandatory minimum sentence.
ORDINANCE NO.
NUISANCE GATHERING ORDINANCE
Be it ENACTED AND ORDAINED by the Borough Council of the Borough of State College, and it is hereby Enacted and Ordained by authority of same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Amend the State College Borough Codification of Ordinances, Chapter V. Conduct. To add a new Part J. Nuisance Gathering Ordinance, to read as follows:
PART J
NUISANCE GATHERING
Section 1001. Purpose and Findings. The Borough of State College intends to preserve the peace, health, safety, and welfare of the residents and neighborhoods in the municipality by reducing the illegal behavior and conduct often occurring at events or gatherings that
seriously detracts from the peace, health, safety, and welfare of the community.
The Borough of State College finds that:
a. Events and gatherings held on private or public property where persons gather and where Liquor or Malt or Brewed beverages are consumed and/or illegal controlled substances are used by persons attending such events or gatherings often results in disruptive, disorderly, destructive, violent, and hazardous conditions that constitute a threat to peace, health, safety, and welfare of the community that require prevention, response to, and/or abatement.
b. Often events and gatherings held on private or public property where persons gather and where Liquor or Malt or Brewed beverages are consumed and/or illegal controlled substances are used by persons attending such events or gatherings result in one or more of the following:
(1) Liquor or Malt or Brewed beverage-related or illegal controlled substance-related traffic crashes; or
(2) Liquor or Malt or Brewed beverage-related or illegal controlled substance-related injuries from falls and other accidents; or
(3) Overconsumption of Liquor or Malt or Brewed beverage requiring emergency medical treatment; or
(4) Providing Liquor or Malt or Brewed beverage to persons under 21 years of age; or
(5) Residents being awakened overnight from loud noises; or
(6) Violent outbursts that result in physical injury to persons; or
(7) Residents having their property damaged or stolen.
c. These events and gatherings that become unlawful public nuisances result in an inordinate amount of police service resources deployed to these events or gatherings resulting in additional costs to the Borough of State College taxpayers. Because of these inordinate costs, it is necessary to recover the police service costs for certain unlawful public nuisances.
Section 1002. Authority. This ordinance is enacted pursuant to XXXXXXXX
Section 1003. Definitions. For purposes of this ordinance, the following terms have the following meanings:
Event or gathering. Event or gathering means any group of three (3) or more persons who have assembled or gathered together for a social function or other activity on public or private property whether indoors or outdoors.
Host. Host means to aid, conduct, allow, entertain, organize, supervise, control, or overtly permit a gathering or event.
Liquor. Liquor as defined by Title 18 – Pennsylvania Crimes Code Section 6310.6
Malt or brewed beverages. Malt or brewed beverages as defined by Title 18 — Pennsylvania Crimes Code Section 6310.6
Person. Person means any individual, partnership, co-partnership, corporation, or any association of one or more individuals.
Police Service Costs. Police Service Costs means the cost to the Borough of State College for police services rendered in responding to a call at a nuisance gathering or otherwise maintaining order and public peace and safety and stopping public disturbances at a nuisance
gathering, including, but not limited to, the salaries and other compensation of police officers, appropriate administrative costs allocable thereto, the cost of repairing damaged Borough of State College equipment and property, and the cost of any medical treatment of injured police officers. The cost for salaries and other compensation of police officers plus the administrative costs shall be established annually by the Borough of State College Finance Department. Cost of
repairing damaged equipment and the cost of any medical treatment of injured police officers shall be based on actual costs.
Premise. Premise means any home, yard, fraternity house, farm, field, land, apartment, condominium, hotel or motel room, or other dwelling unit. or a hall or meeting room, park, or any other place of assembly,public or private, whether occupied on a temporary or permanent basis, whether occupied as a dwelling or specifically for a party or other social function, and whether owned, leased, rented, or used with or without permission or compensation.
Underage Person. Underage person is any individual under twenty-one (21) years of age.
Section 1004. Declaration of nuisance gathering. An event or gathering that results in one or more of the following illegal activities at a premise or on neighboring public or private property is hereby declared to be an unlawful public nuisance as defined herein:
a. Excessive, unnecessary, or unreasonably loud noise which does or is likely to disturb the comfort, quiet, or repose of the neighborhood (Section 5503 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code – Title 18) and/or (Chapter V, Part A, Section 103 of the Borough of State College
Codification of Ordinances); or
b. Public disturbances, brawls, fights, or quarrels or Indecent or obscene conduct (Section 5503 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code – Title 18); or
c. Open container – (Chapter V, Part C., Section 302 c. of the Borough of State College Codification of Ordinances); or
d. Purchase, consumption, possession, or transportation of Liquor or Malt or Brewed beverages (Section 6308 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code -Title 18); or
e. Public drunkenness (Section 5505 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code – Title 18); or
f. Public urination or defecation (Section 5503 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code – Title 18); or
g. Unlawful sale, furnishing, or consumption of intoxicating beverages (Section 6310.1 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code – Title 18); or,
h. Unlawful deposit of trash or litter – Section 6501 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code (Title 18); or
I. Criminal mischief (Section 3304 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code -Title 18); or
j. Sale, manufacture, possession of any controlled substances as defined in The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act” Act of 1972, P.L. 233, No. 64; or
k. Open lewdness or indecent exposure (Section 5901 or Section 3127 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code – Title 18); or
1. Other illegal conduct or condition which injures, or endangers the safety, health, or welfare of the neighborhood.
Section 1005. Prohibited Act. Any premise owner, occupant, tenant, or other person having any possessory control, individually or jointly with others, of any premise who sponsors, conducts, hosts, invites, or overtly permits an event or gathering that at any time of the event or gathering to become an unlawful public nuisance as defined in Section 4 is hereby deemed to have committed a violation of this section.
Section 1006. Penalty for violation.
(a) Any person who violates Section 5 is guilty of a summary offense punishable a fine of not less than $300 nor more than $600 or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both.
(b) For a second or subsequent violation of Section 5 in a l2-month period, the person is guilty of a summary offense punishable by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.
(c) A criminal penalty provided for under subsections (a) and (b) of this section may be imposed in addition to any penalty that may be imposed for any other criminal offense arising from the same conduct.
Each act of violation and every day upon which such violation occurs shall constitute a separate offense.
Section 1007. Payment for Police Service Costs Required. Any premise owner, occupant, tenant, or other person having any possessory control, individually or jointly with others, of any premise who sponsors, conducts, hosts, invites, or overtly permits an unlawful public nuisance
event or gathering shall pay the police service costs for the response, investigation, documentation, and prosecution of the second and any subsequent unlawful public nuisance events or gatherings within a 180 day period of time.
Section 1008. Notice of Police Service Costs. Whenever the police are called to respond to and declare a property in violation of this ordinance, a representative of the Police Department shall notify the owner of the private property where the nuisance gathering took place
and also the Person in Charge (PIC) of such property if the owner has designated a “PIC” in accordance with the Borough of State College’s Property Maintenance Code (Chapter IV, Part L, Section 1204, Chapter 9, Section 901.2), by regular mail at the last known address of such owner
and/or Person in Charge. This notification will include at a minimum that the police identified a nuisance gathering at the owner’s property and that if the police are again called to respond to a nuisance gathering at such property within 180 days after their initial response, such owner shall be required to pay police service costs to the Borough of State College for such responses.
Section 1009. Collection of Police Service Costs. For the second and all subsequent responses to unlawful public nuisance events or gatherings within 180 days as provided for in Section 7 of this Ordinance, the Chief of Police or his/her duly authorized designee shall notify the Borough of State College Finance Department in writing of the name and address of the owner of the private property where the nuisance gathering took place, the dates of the initial and subsequent
response(s), and necessary details related to the billable costs as listed in Section 3, (f) for the subsequent response. The Borough of State College Finance Director or his/her duly authorized designee shall then bill the owner for the appropriate amount and which shall be due and payable to the Borough of State College within thirty (30) days of such billing.
Section 1010. Failure to Pay Police Service Costs. Any police service costs which have not been paid within thirty (30) days of the billing therefore maybe collected, together with a penalty of ten percent (10%) thereof and interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum added thereto, by civil action against the owner and/or may be imposed or assessed against the owner’s private property as a municipal claim as provided by law.
Section 1011. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, word, or other portion of this ordinance is, for any reason, held to be unconstitutional or invalid, in whole, or in part, by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed severable, and such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance, which remaining portions shall continue in full force and effect.
SECTION 3. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days following its final passage and adoption.
STATE COLLEGE — Council on Monday began to look at a “nuisance gathering ordinance” intended to give police a new way to cite hosts with summary offenses if their guests break the law.
Police Chief Tom King told council the intent is not to replace laws but to add to what police have to work with now.
“We’re looking for additional ways for a local ordinance to supplement the crimes code,” he said. “When we can’t absolutely prove who furnished the alcohol … then tenants or property owners are responsible.” (more…)
September 30, 2009, Bellefonte, PA
District Justice Carmine Prestia dismissed furnishing alcohol to minors and related alcohol violations against Tau Epsilon Phi after a preliminary hearing in Centre County Central Criminal Court. The State College Police charged the fraternity with misdemeanors following a summer party at the house. The Commonwealth called an eighteen year old student, who had been cited for underage drinking and disorderly conduct after being caught urinating in bushes, to testify against the fraternity in return for favorable consideration from the District Attorney’s office. The student testified that he drank several beers at the fraternity house. The court agreed with Attorney Andrew Shubin’s argument that there was insufficient evidence linking the fraternity as a corporate entity to any criminal wrongdoing and dismissed all charges.
By Jack Keefe and Dougal Sutherland
The raid by state police on a party at Haverford College and the “College Enforcement Initiative” cited in part as the raid’s cause have put many members of the college community on edge. Many questions have emerged to order the confusion generated from that raid: What is the College Enforcement Initiative? Why did the state police target Haverford? Will they target Swarthmore? What can be done to prevent that?
By Peter Goldberger and Anna Durbin
The forum held in Marshall Auditorium on Friday evening, September 4, provided an opportunity for students to air some of their questions about legal issues arising in the wake of the previous night’s State Police “alcohol awareness” raid on an indoor-outdoor party at Lloyd Hall. As career criminal defense lawyers and longtime friends of Haverford College (one of us an alum from the Class of 1971 and the other an experienced local attorney for many arrested students over the last decade), we were invited to participate in the forum as legal resources. This op-ed shares some of what we had to say. The reader must understand, however, that all of the information in this column is necessarily very general and superficial; it is no substitute for individual, confidential legal counseling, tailored to the facts and circumstances of a particular person’s situation.
Local police have arrested 57 Pennsylvania State University-Altoona students since the start of the fall semester a few weeks ago—a sharp increase from the three students arrested at this point last year, the Daily Collegian reports.
Logan Township Police Chief Ron Heller says that most of the arrests have involved alcohol violations and that township meetings have been packed all summer with residents complaining about students littering and throwing loud parties. “Penn State was named the No. 1 party school,” Heller says. “I don’t know if they’re trying to live up to that title of not.”
Junior Eric Sales says that police are unfairly targeting parties to send a message to the Logan Township community. “They’re screwing over the kids who want to have fun but are still taking their college career seriously,” Sales says. “It’s unfair. There can be a party and there are 10 people drinking and having fun, but the police will come up there and arrest everyone.”
From the Altoona Mirror
Penn State Altoona freshman Acacia Kelley has a good idea how an underage drinking citation could affect her life. School expulsion, future career plans, the 18-year-old rattled off as she balanced a laptop on her legs while sitting on a campus bench Wednesday afternoon.
“My mom wouldn’t be too happy with me,” she said. “I try to be smart about that stuff.”
Beside criminal charges and disappointed parents, college students caught drinking while under age also face consequences at school.