Chase et al. v. City of Gainesville & Sheriff Stephen Oelrich

2006 WL 3826983 (N.D. Fla., J. Mickle 2006)(permanent injunction); 2006 WL 2620260 (N.D. Fla., J. Mickle 2006) (preliminary injunction).

Filed on behalf of Judith Chase, Joe Nelson, and Ollen Rogers, three residents of the City of Gainesville who were experiencing homelessness, this suit challenged under the First and Fourteenth Amendments two state statutes and a local ordinance which were being used to prohibit the plaintiffs and other homeless individuals from holding signs asking for help on public sidewalks and streets. The court granted a preliminary injunction against the defendants and made a preliminary finding that the challenged statutes are facially unconstitutional. A settlement was reached in which the court entered a permanent injunction prohibiting enforcement of the statutes and ordinance. The Sheriff and the City also paid damages to the three plaintiffs.