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AMERICAN FORK, Utah (AP) - A homeless Utah man who won an earlier legal battle with the state over a panhandling ordinance is now suing the city of American Fork over his right to stand on roadsides with a sign asking for money.
The Utah Legal Clinic and Utah Civil Rights and Liberties Foundation filed the lawsuit in federal court in Salt Lake City Wednesday on behalf of Steve Ray Evans.
Evans said the mayor of American Fork, City Council and others are violating his First Amendment rights. His lawsuit says he's been cited by at least three American Fork police officers who have told him panhandling is illegal in the city.
Utah code makes it illegal to "sit, stand or loiter on or near a roadway" in order to solicit a ride, money, employment or other business. But a federal judge ruled in March the law was unconstitutional and shouldn't be enforced.
Related:
Judge says Utah anti-panhandling law is unconstitutional
A federal judge has struck down Utah's anti-panhandling law, contending it is so overbroad it could prohibit a child from selling lemonade in local neighborhoods.Evans said the law "discriminates among types of speech" and "depends solely on a person expressing the 'wrong' words." He said he is homeless and unemployed and has no choice but to continue panhandling.
"In order to bring in enough money to survive, Evans sometimes engages in panhandling," the documents state. "He has done so within the municipal boundaries of American Fork City, Utah. He holds a sign visible to passersby. He has found holding a sign to be an effective means of communicating with people. He does not approach or speak to people unless invited to do so."
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order, at least a nominal monetary award for Evans and the end of enforcement of the law, among other things.
Kasey Wright, an attorney representing American Fork, said Friday that he was still reviewing the lawsuit and had no immediate comment.
Evans filed a similar lawsuit against the city of Draper in June. It was settled in July when the city agreed to stop enforcing the law and pay a monetary award to Evans.
His lawyers also initiated a similar lawsuit in 2010 against the Utah Highway Patrol and Salt Lake City.
Free speech is most important when the people who are engaging in that speech aren't necessarily popular.
–- Stewart Gollan, lawyer
Stewart Gollan, a lawyer who worked on the case and now represents Evans, told The (Provo) Daily Herald (http://bit.ly/Qct1CY ) on Friday that the case was resolved March 15 when UHP was ordered to stop enforcing the state law.
The Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional, but the ruling only applied to UHP because that organization was the only one listed as a defendant. Salt Lake City had previously agreed to stop enforcing the law.
"One would hope the Legislature would take rapid action and take the law off the books, but they haven't so at this point it still remains on the books," Gollan said.
Gollan said the law is unconstitutional because it is so broad and could criminalize things as innocuous as valet parking attendants or children's lemonade stands. It also was problematic because it was being enforced selectively, he said.
"Free speech is most important when the people who are engaging in that speech aren't necessarily popular," Gollan added. "The Constitution doesn't allow you to exclude people because you don't like what they're saying or how they're saying it."
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Information from: The Daily Herald, http://www.heraldextra.com
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
