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The American Civil Liberties Union came out against Ogden's new anti-gang measure last week, saying it would be "heavy-handed" and ineffective to make it a crime for members of the Ogden Trece to gather in public.
The ACLU filed a motion seeking to intervene in a lawsuit filed by Weber County prosecutors that would declare the gang a public nuisance. A judge has prevented the injunction from being enforced, but another hearing on the issue is scheduled for Tuesday in state court in Ogden.
The injunction would ban the 485-plus members from associating with each other, possessing guns and being in the vicinity of illegal drugs. If two or more members of the gang are seen in a public place in Ogden and refuse to leave, they could be charged with a class B misdemeanor, which carries a punishment of up to six months in jail.
"Particularly troublesome is the fact that no guidance is given as to how alleged 'gang members' will be identified by law enforcement," said Darcy Goddard, ACLU of Utah legal director, in a news release. "Once that individual is so identified, he or she can be stripped of all sorts of fundamental liberties, ranging from the freedoms of association and speech to the right to possess a legal firearm or even a felt-tip marker."
Weber County Attorney Dee Smith said the injunction would give police the ability to keep the gang members from congregating and intimidating residents.
As a state senator, Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner crafted a 2009 law that created the public-nuisance designation for gangs in Ogden. Greiner on Saturday said such injunctions already have passed legal challenges in California. The Los Angeles County, Calif., prosecutor helped the Weber County attorney draft the injunction, he said.
"Unless [the ACLU has] got a new angle here, I'm fairly optimistic the Weber County attorney has this in place," Greiner said.
Tribune reporter Nate Carlisle contributed to this report.