Vigue v. Shoar

2020 WL 6020484 (M.D. Fla., J. Corrigan, 2020)

(granting summary judgment for plaintiff, declaring unconstitutional two state statutes, and ordering entry of permanent injunction against Sheriff of St. Johns County); Vigue v. Shoar, 2019 WL 1993551 (preliminary injunction against Sheriff and Florida Highway Patrol).

Peter Vigue, an individual experiencing homelessness and a resident of St. Johns County, filed suit against the Florida Highway Patrol and the St. Johns County Sheriff after he was arrested repeatedly for holding a sign asking for help on the side of a road. He argued that the state statutes were unconstitutional under the First Amendment, Due Process and Equal Protection. We reached a settlement with FHP which agreed to: not enforce either statute in their current versions; issue an official interpretation of the statutes that will make them not violate the First Amendment; train all of its officers; communicate with all other law enforcement in Florida about the new enforcement policy; and recommend a legislative fix. In 2021, the Florida Legislature repealed the unconstitutional portions of the statutes. Granting summary judgment against the Sheriff, the court concluded that the statutes violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and it issued an injunction to enjoin the Sheriff from enforcing them. Vigue settled the amount of compensatory damages with Sheriff Shoar. Co-counsel is the National Homelessness Law Center.