Advocacy Groups File Lawsuit Challenging St. Johns County Ordinance that Criminalizes Requests for Help

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, FL, October 14, 2024–  Florida-based legal aid organizations Southern Legal Counsel (SLC) and Florida Justice Institute (FJI) today filed a federal lawsuit challenging a St. Johns County ordinance passed in May 2023 in an effort to stop panhandling.  The lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division, seeks a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the ordinance, as well as compensatory damages. The challenged ordinance prohibits using a public right of way “in a manner that interferes with the safe and efficient movement of people and property” and restricts speech on sidewalks and medians along the roadway.     

Plaintiffs Joseph LaValley, Thomas D. Smith and Dylan Torres Pagan are longtime St. Johns County residents who make requests for charity along the public streets, often receiving donations of basic necessities, food, water and money. Each has been warned by police to cease their public requests for help, and LaValley and Smith have been cited and fined. As a result, they have curtailed their activity in order to avoid arrest and harassment by law enforcement.

LaValley, a former construction worker who is unable to work because of health problems including esophageal cancer, receives Social Security disability and food stamps, but cannot make ends meet without donations. He will typically stand on a median or along the sidewalk or shoulder of county roads at intersections and ask for donations from people in cars who are stopped at the traffic light.  He does not block or obstruct traffic. He typically holds a sign which states, “Anything helps.  Thank you.”  Smith cannot afford housing on his Social Security income, and Pagan currently has no income or housing. Seeking donations contributes to their survival. They request help in ways similar to LaValley.

“Requesting help in public places is an activity protected by the First Amendment,” said Dante Trevisani, FJI’s Litigation Director. “State and federal courts in Florida and all around the country have repeatedly found panhandling restrictions along public rights of way to be unconstitutional.”

The challenged ordinance not only violates the First Amendment, but it is also unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. It lacks clear guidelines about what conduct might interfere “with the safe and efficient movement of people and property,” making it impossible to know what actions violate the ordinance and giving police unbridled discretion to arrest someone for merely standing on a sidewalk near an intersection. Virtually any form of expression is prohibited along public roadways in the county, including holding political signs, passing out leaflets, or advertising a business.

Since the enactment of the ordinance, approximately 32 people—at least 24 of whom were panhandling or standing near the roadway holding a sign—have been cited, and four have been arrested and taken to jail for standing along the roadway or on a median requesting donations.

“Arresting and jailing people who rely on donations from their fellow citizens to survive is costly and ineffective,” said SLC attorney Chelsea Dunn. “We hope that this lawsuit helps St. Johns County see the error of its ways and focus on constructive policies that are proven to address homelessness instead of criminalizing protected speech.”

The lawsuit follows others brought against Florida local governments whose ordinances criminalizing requests for charity were struck down, enjoined from enforcement, or repealed. Among those municipalities were Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach, Pompano Beach, Fort Myers, Tampa, West Palm Beach and Miami. 

The case is LaValley et al. v. St. Johns County, Case No. 3:24-cv-01055. A copy of the complaint filed today is available here.