5 P.M. UPDATE:
U.S. District Judge Billy Joe Wilson sided with the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas on Tuesday afternoon, issuing an order prohibiting the enforcement of the state's anti-begging statute.
He wrote that the statute violates the First Amendment by restricting freedom of speech.
"A statute that regulates speech based on its content must be narrowly tailored to promote a compelling government interest," Wilson wrote. "Banning begging in all places, at all times, by all people, in all ways does not come close to chinning this bar."
Wilson declined to abstain from the decision, writing that while the Arkansas Supreme Court could one day interpret the case, the anti-begging law still raised "constitutional concerns."
He wrote that his order on the anti-begging statute would not affect the other subsections within the loitering law.
Wilson heard arguments from the ACLU and the state attorney general's office in court earlier Tuesday and said then that he would likely side with the ACLU.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
— Austin Cannon
PREVIOUS:
Lawyers arguing on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and for the state attorney general’s office debated the constitutionality and scope of Arkansas’ loitering law in federal court Tuesday.
The ACLU filed the case in October on behalf of two people — Michael Andrew Rodgers and Glynn Dilbeck — to challenge the state’s begging statute, which the group says makes it a crime to ask for money, food or other charity at any time in any public place.
Rodgers is a disabled veteran, and Dilbeck is a homeless man trying to pay his daughter’s medical bills. Both men have been arrested or cited after holding up signs asking for money from passers-by, the ACLU said in court documents.
Assistant Attorney General Colin Jorgensen said in court that the men’s actions, as described by the ACLU, would not actually violate the state law as it is written. Peaceful begging is not criminalized or penalized, so long as the person identifies themselves to police if asked and does not hide anything, he said.
U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson, who presided over the hearing in Little Rock, listed a string of hypotheticals for Jorgensen to consider. Wilson asked the lawyer if his friend, a disabled Navy veteran, would be violating Arkansas law if he “gently strummed a guitar” on a street corner while wearing a sign asking for cash.
Jorgensen said those actions would likely be allowed, adding “if your friend doesn’t get up and run away [from police] or hide something, that ends it right there.”
Wilson then speculated if Arkansas law enforcement agencies knew non-obtrusive begging was permissible, or if those who were arrested or cited after violating the loitering law knew they were entitled to a lawyer.
Any arrest for peaceful begging is unconstitutional, Jorgensen responded, saying the state law as written does not dispute that fact.
Attorney Bettina Brownstein, representing the ACLU, disagreed with Jorgensen’s interpretation and said there “couldn’t possibly be a broader anti-begging statute.”
“It applies everywhere. All the time. Night or day,” Brownstein said.
Brownstein also said requiring those who beg to identify themselves and their actions when approached by an officer is an infringement on their constitutional rights, and “that’s just wrong.”
Arkansas’ loitering law has been on the books for 40 years, Brownstein said, which is a testament to how “vulnerable” the people are who are targeted by the statute. Going through lengthy litigation is not their first concern when they deal with much more immediate issues in everyday life, she said.
Wilson, who said in court that he would likely side with the ACLU, commended both sets of lawyers on their arguments. He said he would issue a judgement as quickly as possible.
— Emma Pettit