Curfew

A curfew is an order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically it refers to the time when individuals are required to return to and stay in their homes.

Such an order may be issued by public authorities but also by the owner of a house to those living in the household.

I remember curfews from the college of William & Mary. My soon to be betrothed lived in a dorm. We’d hang out all day and wander those beautiful grounds and the fantasy town but came a certain time and she had to go back to the dorm and could not come back out until the next day.

From the time I could adventure, I don’t remember being on a curfew. Most of the time I was in my room so I figure my parents just assumed I was up there. Then again maybe they just forgot about me.

By college there was no timeline (even though I was living at home because I couldn’t find a roommate) but her curfew upset me. We were ‘almost’ adults and should be able to control our comings and goings.

Never had kids so don’t know how I’d establish a curfew?

Martial Law On a federal level, only the president has the power to impose martial law.

In each state the governor has the right to impose martial law within the borders of the state. The law applied in occupied territory by the military authority of the occupying power.

The law administered by military forces that is invoked by a government in an emergency when the civilian law enforcement agencies are unable to maintain public order and safety.

  Typically, the imposition of martial law accompanies curfews; the suspension of civil law, civil rights, and habeas corpus; and the application or extension of military law or military justice to civilians. Civilians defying martial law may be subjected to military tribunal (court-martial).

The martial law concept in the United States is closely tied with the right of habeas corpus, which is in essence the right to a hearing on lawful imprisonment, or more broadly, the supervision of law enforcement, by the judiciary. The ability to suspend habeas corpus is related to the imposition of martial law. Article 1, Section 9 of the US Constitution states, “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”

There have been many instances of the use of the military within the borders of the United States, such as during the Whiskey Rebellion and in the South during the Civil Rights Movement, but these acts are not tantamount to a declaration of martial law. The distinction must be made as clear as that between martial law and military justice: deployment of troops does not necessarily mean that the civil courts cannot function, and that is one of the keys, as the Supreme Court noted, to martial law.

In United States law, martial law is limited by several court decisions that were handed down between the American Civil War and World War II. In 1878, Congress passed the Posse Comitatus Act, which forbids U.S. military involvement in domestic law enforcement without congressional approval.

A lockdown is an emergency protocol that usually prevents people or information from leaving an area. The protocol can usually only be initiated by someone in a position of authority. Lockdowns can also be used to protect people inside a facility or, for example, a computing system, from a threat or other external event.

Of buildings, a drill lockdown usually means that doors leading outside are locked such that no person may enter or exit.

A full lockdown usually means that people must stay where they are and may not enter or exit a building or rooms within said building. If people are in a hallway, they should go to the nearest safe, enclosed room.

Remember when the assistant principle caught you outside of class without a ‘hall pass’? An authority figure sends you to punishment because you’d broken curfew.

When the troops hit the streets and the bull horns tell everyone to stay sheltered and not come out for any reason, best pay attention. The bogeyman is out and you’d best pay attention. No questions asked. Shoot on site.

We haven’t gotten there yet, but the anxiety in our minds and the rumors on the network will create panic in the streets.

Murphy’s Law. A rule that states, “If something can go wrong, it will.” An addition to this law reads, “and usually at the worst time.”

The identity of “Murphy” is unknown, but the saying was first used during the 1940s and may have originated with members of the armed forces in World War II along with my favorite “SNAFU”.