DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Southern Legal Counsel, along with pro bono attorneys Sabarish Neelakanta of SPN Law and Paul George of Holland & Knight, filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Daytona Beach ordinance that prohibits asking for donations in certain public spaces.

Recognizing they were likely to lose a potentially costly legal fight, City of Lake Worth Beach officials repealed two ordinances at the center of a federal lawsuit Southern Legal Counsel and West Palm Beach pro bono attorney Sabarish P. Neelakanta of SPN Law filed in June.

The lawsuit challenged the city’s enforcement of local ordinances that unlawfully prohibited public charitable solicitation, which is protected speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Southern Legal Counsel and West Palm Beach pro bono attorney Sabarish P. Neelakanta of SPN Law today filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Lake Worth Beach for enforcing local ordinances that unlawfully prohibit public charitable solicitation, which is protected speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

OCALA, FL – Southern Legal Counsel and the ACLU of Florida filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Ocala on behalf of Roger Luebke, Kimberly Burnham, William Anthony Taylor, Victor Hoyt Cox, Dustin Damico, and Patrick McArdle, who have been arrested for asking people for help.

“Ocala’s ordinances prohibiting people from asking for help are unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth amendments,” said lead counsel Chelsea Dunn of Southern Legal Counsel. “Every individual in this case has been subject to arrest based on the content of their speech. They have been jailed and assessed fines for acts as harmless as asking a stranger for a cigarette.”

(October 15, 2020, Jacksonville, FL) – In a major First Amendment victory, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida has declared Florida Statutes 316.2045 and 337.406—which prohibit the solicitation of charitable contributions on Florida roadways except by charitable organizations or when a local government permit has been issued— unconstitutional.

Southern Legal Counsel, the ACLU of Florida, and pro bono attorney Andy Pozzuto today filed a federal class action lawsuit against the city of Ocala on behalf of named plaintiffs Patrick McCardle, Courtney Ramsey, Anthony Cummings and more than 200 other similarly situated homeless persons who have been arrested for sleeping or resting on sidewalks and other outdoor areas.