ACLU Challenges State
Anti-Begging Law as Harsh, Unconstitutional
September 13, 2011
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The
American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a
lawsuit today asking a federal judge to strike down
a state law that criminalizes peaceful panhandling
in all public places. The lawsuit was filed against
the state attorney general and the City of Grand
Rapids, which has made 399 begging-related arrests
since 2008.
“Anti-begging laws that punish
that most vulnerable segment of our society are not
only harsh, they are unconstitutional,” said Miriam
Aukerman, ACLU of Michigan staff attorney. "Removing
the reminders of poverty from our sight is not the
answer to Michigan’s economic woes. We need laws and
practices that provide compassionate solutions for
our growing homeless population.”
In May, the ACLU of Michigan
submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to
the Grand Rapids Police Department seeking incident
reports related to begging and panhandling offenses
since 2008. The GRPD produced 399 incident reports
of individuals prosecuted under the unconstitutional
state statute. Collectively, individuals charged
with begging between January 1, 2008 and May 24,
2011 were sentenced to 1,641 days in jail, which,
according to estimates, costs taxpayers more than
$60,000.
“Jail time is a harsh price to
pay for being poor,” said Aukerman. “The ACLU is not
opposed to laws that protect citizens from threats,
intimidation and harassment. However, throwing
people in jail because they are poor or homeless is
not only wrong, it’s illegal.”
The ACLU’s lawsuit was filed
on behalf of two Grand Rapids’ residents who have
been repeatedly arrested or ticketed by police for
violating the state’s blanket ban on begging in
public. James Speet has been homeless for about two
years and lives in a tent. Speet receives food
stamps, and also collects bottles, cans and scrap
metal to survive. He hopes to find work, and has
been seeking employment by holding up a sign in
public that reads “Need Job, God Bless.” Speet, who
has been prosecuted multiple times under the
unconstitutional state law, was most recently
arrested in July for holding up the sign in Grand
Rapids.
“I see people holding up signs
throughout the city advertising restaurants or
protesting and they don’t get arrested or ticketed,”
said Speet. “I don’t understand why my sign is any
different just because I’m homeless and looking for
a job.”
Ernest Sims is a veteran who
relies on a $260 disability assistance check and
food stamps for survival. When unable to afford his
expenses, he asks people for “spare change to help a
veteran” on the public streets of Grand Rapids. On
July 4, 2011, a Grand Rapids police officer arrested
Sims, who was asking change for bus fare. Sims has
since pleaded guilty and was sentenced to $100 or
two days in jail.
According to the 24-page
lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western
District of Michigan, Michigan’s anti-begging law is
unconstitutional because peaceful panhandling is
protected speech under the First Amendment. In
addition, the law violates the Fourteenth Amendment
right to equal protection as it allows other First
Amendment activity to go on without incident, while
punishing begging.
This is not the first time the
ACLU has challenged anti-begging policies in
Michigan. In May, the ACLU of Michigan successfully
lobbied Royal Oak officials to repeal an
unconstitutional ordinance that similarly punished
peaceful panhandling on public sidewalks. Similar
laws making it a crime to ask for financial
assistance in public places have been struck down in
states across the country, including New York,
Florida, California, Massachusetts and Illinois.
In addition to Aukerman, Steep
and Sims are represented by Dan Korobkin and Michael
J. Steinberg of the ACLU of Michigan.
To read our complaint in this
case, go to http://www.aclumich.org/sites/default/files/BeggingComplaint.pdf
To read more about the 399
arrests in this case, go to http://www.aclumich.org/sites/default/files/ArrestsFOIA.pdf
To read more about the Royal
Oak Anti-Begging Ordinance, go to http://www.aclumich.org/issues/free-speech/2011-05/1556 |