Void for vagueness

Void for vagueness

Void for vagueness is a legal concept in American constitutional law, whereby a civil statute or, more commonly, a criminal statute is adjudged unconstitutional when it is so vague that persons "of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application," as the United States Supreme Court articulated in Connally v General Construction Co., 269 US 385, 391 (1926). A statute is void for vagueness when: 1) it is unclear what persons fall within its scope, 2) what conduct is forbidden, and/or 3) what punishment may be imposed. Due process requires that a law be reasonably definite as to what persons and conduct are covered as well as the punishment for any violation. In determining whether a law is void for vagueness, courts have imposed the following tests: 1) does the law give fair notice to those persons subject to it? 2) does the law guard against arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement? and 3) can the law be enforced with sufficient "breathing room" for First Amendment rights?

References

Chemerinsky, Erwin (2002). "Constitutional Law Principles and Policies", Aspen Publishers, ISBN 0-7355-2428-9.

Harr, J. Scott and Kären M. Hess (2004). "Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System", Wadsworth Publishing, ISBN 0-534-62880-X.


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