Legal Definitions - night

In legal contexts, the term night generally refers to the period between sunset and sunrise. However, its precise meaning can vary depending on the specific law or legal context, often carrying historical significance or being defined by modern statutes.

• Historically, especially in common law, "night" was often understood as the time when there was insufficient daylight to discern a person's face. This distinction was crucial for defining certain offenses, such as burglary, where the cover of darkness contributed to the severity of the crime.
• In modern law, statutes frequently provide a more specific definition of "night" for regulatory purposes. This might be a fixed period, such as 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise, or it might be tied to specific visibility conditions.

Examples:

• Historical Common Law Context: An ancient statute regarding poaching made "night hunting" a more severe offense than hunting during the day. The statute specified that "night" for this purpose was the period when "a man's face cannot be plainly distinguished by natural light."

  This illustrates the historical common-law understanding where the lack of visibility and the difficulty in identifying an offender under the cover of darkness were key elements that elevated the seriousness of the crime. The law aimed to penalize acts committed with greater stealth and opportunity for evasion.

• Modern Statutory Definition (Traffic Law): A state's vehicle code mandates that vehicle headlights must be turned on during "nighttime hours," which the statute explicitly defines as "the period from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise, and at any other time when visibility is not sufficient to render clearly discernible persons and vehicles on the highway at a distance of 500 feet."

  This demonstrates how modern statutes provide a precise, often time-based, definition of "night" for specific regulatory purposes. The law removes ambiguity by setting clear temporal boundaries for when certain actions (like using headlights) are legally required, ensuring public safety.

• Modern Statutory Definition (Local Ordinance): A city ordinance prohibits construction noise above a certain decibel level during "nighttime hours" within residential zones. The ordinance defines "nighttime hours" as "10:00 PM to 7:00 AM on weekdays, and 10:00 PM to 9:00 AM on weekends and public holidays."

  This example shows how a legal definition of "night" can be tailored to specific local regulations, often extending beyond the astronomical definition of sunset to sunrise. Here, "nighttime" is defined by specific clock times to manage quality of life issues, such as noise pollution, reflecting a policy choice rather than a natural phenomenon.