INDIANAPOLIS -- A federal appeals court in Chicago ruled Thursday that Indiana's curfew law is unconstitutional, saying it discourages the exercise of minors' rights to free speech.

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The law, which was enacted by the Indiana General Assembly in 2001, required people under the age of 18 to be home by 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday (and 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays) unless they met one of several exceptions.

Those exceptions included being with a parent; emergencies; and being at (or traveling to/from) work, a school-sanctioned activity, a religious event, or an activity involving the exercise of rights protected under the First Amendment.

On Thursday, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law "unduly chills the exercise of a minor's First Amendment rights."

The ruling acknowledged the law shields a minor from being convicted if they prove they were exercising First Amendment rights. But the court said the law does not shield minors from being arrested by an officer who hasn't seen them participating in one of the protected activities.

"Granted, Indiana's curfew does not forbid minors from exercizing their First Amendment rights during curfew hours, but it does forcefully discourage the exercise of those rights," the ruling said.

The court considered the case after the Indiana Civil Liberties Union challenged the law.

The state attorney general's office was reviewing the ruling Thursday afternoon and wasn't immediately prepared to comment on it, a spokeswoman said.