Is NC’s Disorderly Conduct at Schools Statute Unconstitutionally Vague?

I started wondering about that question after reading a recent decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Carolina Youth Action Project v. Wilson, 60 F.4th 770 (4th Cir. 2023) (summarized here). There, the court struck down two South Carolina state laws aimed in large part at regulating conduct and speech in and around schools. Those laws are similar to our version of disorderly conduct by disrupting schools. This post examines the holding of Carolina Youth Action Project and its potential implications for North Carolina law. The Challenged South Carolina Laws. One of the laws at issue in the case prohibited (among other things) “disorderly or boisterous” conduct in any public location, as well as the use of “obscene or profane” words in public or within hearing distance of any school or church. S.C. Code Ann. § 16-17-530(A)(1) & (2). The other challenged law prohibited “disturbing or interfering with” teachers or students at any school, as well as “obnoxious” behavior on school grounds. S.C. Code § 16-17-420(1). (Note, this second law was amended in 2018 to apply only to non-students, but this case concerned the earlier version of the law, in place from 2010 to 2018, which applied equally to students and non-students alike.) When a student was accused of violating one of these laws, the matter was referred to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (“DJJ”). That agency would make a recommendation to the local prosecutor, who would ultimately decide if the case should move forward. Whether the case [...]