A legal-aid organization is suing Palm Beach County, arguing that its anti-panhandling ordinance violates First Amendment protections and should no longer be enforced against county residents.
The Florida Justice Institute and attorney Sabarish Neelakanta filed the federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida on behalf of plaintiff Clarence Richter, who is homeless. The legal actions involve a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the county from enforcing the ordinance, which can subject violators to $500 fines and 60-day jail terms, according to Neelakanta.
The county’s law flies in the face of judicial precedent, which holds that the act of asking for charity is a right protected by the First Amendment, he said.
“The U.S. Supreme Court in the 2015 case Reed v. Gilbert really set the precedent here with regard to these kinds of panhandling laws,” Neelakanta told the Florida Record. “... For any encroachment on that right, the government has to satisfy the highest level of scrutiny … to enforce these laws.”
Palm Beach County, whose county attorney declined comment on the pending litigation, is not especially unusual in continuing to enforce its anti-panhandling ordinance, he said.
“Many of these laws are just vestiges of the past that nobody has revisited or examined in light of the new precedent," Neelakanta said.
The county’s ordinance applies to those on public roads who solicit for charitable contributions or for businesses, but it doesn’t cover those who engage in political advocacy, according to the complaint.
“That goes against what the county is saying is the rationale behind this law, which is public safety,” Neelakanta said, adding that if public safety were the true concern, the law would apply to other forms of speech.
The ordinance targets the poor and the homeless for simply trying to survive, he said.
“Plaintiff Clarence Richter solicits for contributions in unincorporated Palm Beach County by standing on medians and holding a sign,” the lawsuit states. “He has been arrested and harassed by county sheriff’s deputies for doing so. He wishes to continue to solicit donations and needs to do so to contribute to his survival, but fears arrest for doing so.”