Virginia Supreme Court Upholds Richmond Trespassing Policy

摘要

A housing authority's trespassing policy is not void for vagueness and does not violate a defendant's right of intimate association, ruled the Virginia Supreme Court. (Virginia v. Hicks, Record No. 011728, April 23, 2004; for background, see Current Developments, Vol. 31, No. CD-13, p. 388.) In an attempt to eliminate illegal drug activity in its housing developments, the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) implemented a policy denying access to its property to persons who didn't have legitimate reasons to be in the premises. Kevin Hicks was convicted of criminal trespass on property owned by the RRHA. Hicks provided written acknowledgement that he received a letter from the RRHA manager informing him that if he trespassed again on housing authority property, he would be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor.