Homeless people in Hillsdale and Jonesville, Mich., should be permitted under the law to openly panhandle within the village limits, according to a recent court decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Eight communities in Michigan, including Jonesville, have been notified by the American Civil Liberties Union that their ordinances against panhandling are unconstitutional and must be revoked. However, Hillsdale has not received a letter.
“It’s not a crime to be poor. Poor people have free speech rights as well,” said Rana Elmir, deputy director at ACLU Michigan. “Cities don’t want to be reminded about the vulnerable members of our society. They want to protect their citizens from threats or harassments; however, there are already laws for that.”
The ACLU was originally involved in a lawsuit with the city of Grand Rapids, Mich. The case, Speet v. Scheutte, concluded that begging in public places is a First Amendment right that cities in Michigan must recognize, according to ACLU’s letter to Jonesville.
“It’s made to be a crime to be poor, which is perhaps why we got involved,” Elmir said. “These individuals are ticketed and even jailed, at times. It can have an extremely disastrous effect on an individual. Being sucked into the criminal justice system is something lifelong, and it’s difficult to get out of once you’ve had an interaction with law enforcement.”
Jonesville had a similar ordinance to the one struck down in Grand Rapids. The law, which was enacted in 1969, criminalizes people who beg in a public place, “either by words, gestures, or by exhibiting a sign,” according to Jonesville’s code section 9-2.
“The law went into effect at a time when a lot of villages considered it a public nuisance,” said Jeff Gray, village manager of Jonesville. “However, we’ve certainly had no prosecutions or arrests that anyone can recall under this ordinance. I don’t think anyone has even been spoken to by the police about this. There are a number of social services, which may be a piece as to why we haven’t seen as much of an issue here.”
Police officers in Jonesville have been informed about Speet v. Schuette’s decision to recognize panhandling as a First Amendment right.
“These blanket bans on begging are certainly a free speech issue,” Elmir said. “Essentially the law says if you’re asking for a donation because you’re poor, that is protected speech. It’s similar to holding up a political sign, or saying ‘need a job, God bless.’ Simply asking for support is constitutionally-protected speech.”
The city of Jonesville will not enforce its ordinance until the law is amended. However, section 22-124 in Hillsdale’s code of ordinance, which includes laws against begging and soliciting alms, is still a law, according to the Hillsdale City Police Department.
