# Can cities just choose not to enforce state laws **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 31, 2022, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405 "2022-05-31T04:40:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/1 "2022-05-31T04:40:42Z")
Austin is planning to prepare for the coming abortion ban by passing city council resolutions making enforcement of an abortion ban a very low priority for police, and restricting funding for its enforcement. > **[Austin pushing to effectively decriminalize abortion ahead of ruling on Roe](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/30/austin-decriminalize-abortion-roe-00035791)** > > The state’s so-called trigger law, which would take effect 30 days after a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe, includes the nation’s harshest criminal penalties on abortion. > Councilmember Chito Vela is proposing a resolution that would direct the city’s police department to make criminal enforcement, arrest and investigation of abortions its lowest priority and restrict city funds and city staff from being used to investigate, catalogue or report suspected abortions. Good for them, but is this an option nationwide? I know most law enforcement is local (city and county) but can a city just choose not to enforce major felonies? I know its not uncommon for cities to refuse to enforce state bans on marijuana for example, but thats a misdemeanor, not a major felony like murder, which is what abortion will be classified as. Also I assume a state law can just be passed overruling the local ordinances. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/2 "2022-05-31T04:50:02Z")
An example: possession of cannabis is illegal in the state of Wisconsin. However, Madison (the state’s capital) has historically been an extremely liberal city, and when I was in college there in the '80s, the city police wouldn’t arrest or prosecute for small amounts of cannabis possession (2 ounces, I believe). In 2020, the Madison City Council formally decriminalized cannabis possession, though it is still illegal in the state – by doing so, they formally stated that, despite the statewide ban, they would not be pursuing prosecuting possession. > **[Madison council approves measures to decriminalize marijuana](https://www.channel3000.com/madison-council-approves-measures-to-decriminalize-marijuana/)** > > The common council passed a set of new ordinances Tuesday night that largely decriminalizes having less than an ounce of marijuana in the city. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/3 "2022-05-31T06:16:40Z")
I would presume the state would have the authority to use state policing resources to enforce anti-abortion laws and withhold the costs of that in whatever funding the city gets from the state. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/4 "2022-05-31T17:02:06Z")
The OP is asking two separate questions. The first is whether local government can choose to not enforce a law. The second is whether local government can choose to place a low priority on enforcing a state law. The answer to the first question is iffy. But the answer to the second question is definitely yes. Local governments have finite resources and that means they assign priorities on how they spend them. Nobody would be disputing the legality of this if Austin announced it was making the enforcement of this law a high priority and was dedicating funds to a special unit to investigate and make arrests. What they’re actually doing is essentially the same thing; they’re just announcing they’re giving the enforcement of this law a low priority rather than a high one. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/5 "2022-05-31T17:37:01Z")
Yes but this isn’t something minor like marijuana possession or shoplifting, which some local jurisdictions have chosen not to prosecute. Abortion will probably be prosecuted as a capital crime. Can a local government say they’re not going to investigate or prosecute murder or capital crimes? ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/6 "2022-05-31T17:43:46Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Abortion will probably be prosecuted as a capital crime. Can a local government say they’re not going to investigate or prosecute murder or capital crimes? I have not read that it will be prosecuted as a capital crime. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/7 "2022-05-31T18:09:30Z")
The link in the OP says abortion would be punishable as a first degree felony with up to life in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Although Texas does allow capital punishment for the murder of an individual who is under ten years old, [Texas Penal Code § 19.03](https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._penal_code_section_19.03)(a)(8), I don’t think there are any indications that would apply in case of an abortion. Since the article mentions a seventeen year old facing possible first degree felony charges, even if capital punishment were available under state law, the Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to execute a person for a crime committed while under the age of 18. _Roper v. Simmons_ , 543 U.S. 551 (2005). ~Max ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/8 "2022-05-31T18:09:41Z")
Up until recently, it was illegal to shoot off fireworks in Ohio (still is on most days of the year). Our city, and I think most cities, chooses not to strictly enforce it. People have some huge displays. The police have the law on their side to instantly shut you down if you’re being obnoxious or unsafe but in general they let you go on. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/9 "2022-05-31T18:28:45Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Yes but this isn’t something minor like marijuana possession or shoplifting, which some local jurisdictions have chosen not to prosecute. Abortion will probably be prosecuted as a capital crime. Can a local government say they’re not going to investigate or prosecute murder or capital crimes? That may be some people’s opinion. But there are plenty of people who feel that abortion is a lesser crime than shoplifting. And again, there is a difference between saying you’re not going to investigate or prosecute a crime and saying you are not going to make investigating and prosecuting that crime a priority. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/10 "2022-05-31T18:56:40Z")
So then if an illegal abortion took place inside of Austin’s city limits, and no prosecutor in the city felt like prosecuting it, could a state prosecutor step in? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/11 "2022-05-31T18:58:37Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Up until recently, it was illegal to shoot off fireworks in Ohio (still is on most days of the year). Our city, and I think most cities, chooses not to strictly enforce it. Speak for yourself. I know that in Springfield, Illinois (fireworks illegal generally in Illinois, and Springfield has even stricter fireworks laws than the state ones), if you set off so much as a firecracker, the police will be on you like white on rice. Every year they make a big thing about it on local radio, local TV, social media, etc. They take that shit seriously in Springfield. Not saying how I know. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/12 "2022-05-31T19:10:50Z")
I think the problem is an abortion clinic needs a building to operate in. It would be trivial for state police to walk in and arrest everyone there. Further, I seriously doubt anyone would insure the doctors or the clinic. As a practical matter Austin refusing to enforce the state law in this case won’t change anything. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/13 "2022-05-31T19:14:41Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I know most law enforcement is local (city and county) but can a city just choose not to enforce major felonies? I don’t see how a city could be enjoined to enforce any state or federal law. City governments are accountable to voters. It’s hard to imagine voters tolerating a mayor who directed the police not to arrest suspected murderers. But if the voters have decided they can live with that, who would have standing to override their will? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/14 "2022-05-31T19:38:34Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I think the problem is an abortion clinic needs a building to operate in. It would be trivial for state police to walk in and arrest everyone there. Maybe- first off, there’s such a thing as a medical abortion which only requires pills and most of these trigger bills include those. Second, abortions don’t have to be performed in an “abortion clinic” . They are currently often performed in what people refer to as an “abortion clinic” - but many (maybe most) do not simply provide abortions. They often provide other reproductive health services as well, and some provide the full menu of gynecological services. It might be easy for the state police to arrest everyone in a place that advertises as an “abortion clinic”. It’s going to require some more effort to find out that Dr. Jones provides medical and surgical abortions at their private ob/gyn practice. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/15 "2022-05-31T19:44:37Z")
The state. The state creates cities. They are creatures of the state and all state laws apply. The state can dissolve cities if it chooses, and can take away their powers as [Georgia did last year](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/01/georgias-new-law-shows-when-black-people-gain-local-power-states-strip-that-power-away/). I’m sure that the exact mechanism of enforcement varies from state to state. Maybe the Texas Rangers would make the arrest in Austin. Maybe the feds would decide that the murder violated someone’s civil rights and swoop in. No matter who or how it’s done, cities are underlings. They cannot totally defy laws or make laws superseding state or federal laws with impunity. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/16 "2022-05-31T19:51:51Z")
If this is a hijack let me know (but I think it fits here well): What happens if Texas asks another state to extradite a doctor or woman who got an abortion to Texas because they broke Texas abortion laws and the other state refuses? The US constitution says states have to extradite someone but what happens if the state simply refuses to comply? Connecticut has [passed a law protecting abortion seekers and providers](https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/05/politics/connecticut-abortion-protection-law-out-of-state-lawsuits/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/17 "2022-05-31T19:53:10Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The state can dissolve cities if it chooses, and can take away their powers as [Georgia did last year](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/01/georgias-new-law-shows-when-black-people-gain-local-power-states-strip-that-power-away/). What happened in Georgia was not a stripping of a city’s powers, but reallocation of a county’s role in a process that was ultimately owned by the state. (A gross power grab to be sure, but not related to the topic of this thread). > [@](#): > > No matter who or how it’s done, cities are underlings. They cannot totally defy laws or make laws superseding state or federal laws with impunity. This is not responsive to the question of who has standing to force a city to enforce its own laws. The state can enforce state laws inside the city. The state can dissolve the city and take over the city’s function. But I don’t think there’s any way for a state to force a city to enforce city laws. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/18 "2022-05-31T20:26:26Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > City governments are accountable to voters. It’s hard to imagine voters tolerating a mayor who directed the police not to arrest suspected murderers. But if the voters have decided they can live with that, who would have standing to override their will? This is true. But note that many cities (and states) in the south would not prosecute a white on black murder in bygone (hopefully) days. Abortion, using pills does not require a physical location. But later term ones would. Although maybe if you can have a home delivery, you could have a home D&C. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/19 "2022-05-31T20:30:09Z")
Here’s what the Constitution says > A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime. I think what the states that will refuse to extradite are hanging their hat on is that the people they say they will protect (women who travel to Connecticut to obtain abortions and the people who performed the abortion in Connecticut ) did not “flee from justice” in Texas because the abortion took place in Connecticut (where abortion will be legal regardless of the Supreme Court decision).\* I believe Connecticut would have no choice about extraditing someone who performed or obtained an abortion in Texas and then fled to Connecticut - but that situation isn’t what the Connecticut law is about. \* Turns out I’m correct - the bill summary contains this The bill limits the governor’s discretion to extradite someone accused of performing an act in this state that results in a crime in another state (i.e., the person did not flee the other state as a fugitive for which federal law and the U.S. Constitution would require extradition; see BACKGROUND). ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405/20 "2022-05-31T20:32:13Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I think the problem is an abortion clinic needs a building to operate in. It would be trivial for state police to walk in and arrest everyone there. This. Enforcing abortion laws probably won’t fall on local police. It will probably be something done by investigators from the state AG office and enforced by law enforcement bodies like the Texas Rangers, not by Austin or Houston PD or the DA of Travis or Harris County. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cities-just-choose-not-to-enforce-state-laws/965405.md?page=2)