October 14, 2007
Judge Tom
1

A blue chalk flower on your front step – graffiti??

 

That’s what New York City says. Six-year-old Natalie chalked on the front steps of her home. Her parents received a ticket with a possible $300 fine if it wasn’t removed. Natalie explained that it wasn’t graffiti – “It was art, very nice art.” A heavy rain erased her work with no further consequences.

See Crimes & Punishment “What if I damage someone else’s property?” for a serious discussion of tagging and property damage. 

Photo by Owen (Flickr)

Should there be exceptions to laws like these?  Do you think the city council or whatever governing board was involved contemplated incidents like these to come under their law?  What could you do to bring these minor infractions to the attention of lawmakers?

Judge Tom

The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

Find great resources in our

Teen Help Network

Leave A Comment

1 Comment

  • Jennifer Jones
    October 3, 2011 8:27 pm count( 0 )

    Why do they call it “sidewalk chalk” if it may be illegal to use it as advertised? Should it come with a warning?

    Our fascist police chief says the ground is not the ground, and public property does not belong to the public. I am looking for any free speech case law that might apply in AZ for an article I’m writing regarding copblock.org “Chalk the Police Day”Key phrase in #5 is “except the ground”!http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/13/01602.htm&Title=13&DocType=ARS
    Thanks for your comments, Jennifer. Because every state’s criminal damage laws differ slightly, whether chalking in Arizona could be considered criminal damage may depend on a strict interpretation of the statute as well as the legislative intent. It seems unlikely that they intended for sidewalk chalk used on the ground to constitute criminal damage. Please send us a link to your article once it’s published. Thank you.
    (This is information only – not legal advice.)