Also known as:voided on vagueness grounds · voiding on vagueness grounds · void for vagueness · vagueness doctrine
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional doctrine under which a statute or regulation is invalidated when its terms fail to provide ordinary people fair notice of prohibited conduct or explicit standards to constrain law enforcement discretion. The doctrine protects due process by preventing arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement and by avoiding chilling effects on protected activity. Courts apply it when indeterminate language such as references to subjective purpose or intent leaves individuals guessing about compliance and grants officers unchecked authority.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Attorney Press Conference Discipline
Victor Vargas, defense counsel in a high-profile theft case, held a press conference questioning the credibility of undercover officers. The state bar charged him under a rule barring statements with a substantial likelihood of prejudicing the proceeding yet permitting general descriptions of the defense without elaboration. The disciplinary panel could not determine whether Vargas's comments fell inside or outside the safe harbor, so the court held the rule void on vagueness grounds and dismissed the charges.
Gang Loitering Dispersal Order
Valentina Vasquez stood on a Chicago sidewalk talking with two acquaintances who had gang ties. An officer ordered the group to disperse under the city's anti-loitering ordinance because they had no apparent purpose. Vasquez refused and was arrested. The court invalidated the ordinance as void on vagueness grounds because it supplied no objective criteria for determining when presence became loitering.
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Cases
Casebooks
City of Chicago v. Morales527 U.S. 41, 119 S.Ct. 1849, 144 L.Ed.2d 67 (1999)
Obscenity Statute Application
Vanessa Vinson mailed advertisements describing explicit sexual content. Prosecutors charged her under a state obscenity law that banned material appealing to prurient interest without further definition. Vinson moved to dismiss, arguing the statute gave no workable standard. The court declared the law void on vagueness grounds and dismissed the prosecution.
Miller v. California413 U.S. 15, 30-34 (1973)
Civil Rights March Injunction
Veronica Villanueva organized a protest march after city officials obtained an injunction barring parades without a permit. She proceeded anyway and was held in contempt. On appeal she argued the permit ordinance was void on vagueness grounds because it gave officials unfettered discretion. The court agreed and vacated the contempt finding.
Walker v. City of Birmingham388 U.S. 307 (1967)
Loitering Identification Demand
Valerie Voss was stopped by police while walking at night and ordered to provide credible and reliable identification under a municipal loitering statute. She could not satisfy the officer's subjective demand and was arrested. The court held the statute void on vagueness grounds because it failed to supply clear enforcement standards.
Kolender v. Lawson461 U.S. 352, 103 S.Ct. 1855, 75 L.Ed.2d 903 (1983)
NAACP Solicitation Ban
Valerie Viera, an NAACP organizer, encouraged parents to file school-desegregation suits. State authorities charged her with improper solicitation under a statute that broadly prohibited stirring up litigation. Viera challenged the statute as void on vagueness grounds. The court agreed and dismissed the prosecution.
N.A.A.C.P. v. Button371 U.S. 415, 83 S. Ct. 328, 9 L. Ed. 2d 405 (1963)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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What two due-process requirements must a law satisfy to avoid being void on vagueness grounds?+
A law must give ordinary people fair notice of what conduct is prohibited and must supply explicit standards that prevent arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement by officials. When either requirement is missing, courts declare the law void on vagueness grounds.
Does training officers on observable indicators cure vagueness in an anti-loitering ordinance?+
No. Training on proxies such as prolonged sitting without shopping bags does not cure vagueness because the underlying standard still turns on an officer's subjective assessment of unseen purpose. Courts therefore hold such ordinances void on vagueness grounds.
Can a rule regulating attorney speech to the press be void on vagueness grounds even if it contains a safe-harbor provision?+
Yes. When the safe harbor uses indeterminate language such as authorizing statements about the general nature of the defense without clear boundaries, the rule fails to give fair notice and risks selective enforcement, rendering it void on vagueness grounds.
401 U.S. 37 (1971)Constitutional Law
…jurisdiction and power to restrain the District Attorney from prosecuting, held that the State's Criminal Syndicalism Act was void for vagueness and overbreadth in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and accordingly restrained the District Attorney from "further prosecution of the currently pending action against…