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In Fall River Case, SJC Declares Panhandling Law Unconstitutional A state law that prohibits certain people from asking motorists for money along the roadway was struck down Tuesday by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The anti-panhandling law violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights because it is a content-based regulation of protected speech in a public forum that cannot withstand strict scrutiny, the SJC wrote in its decision. The case got its start in Fall River with two homeless plaintiffs – John Correira and Joseph Treeful – who were issued dozens of criminal complaints in 2018 and 2019 after standing with signs and accepting money from motorists. Fall River Police in those two years issued around 150 complaints against roadway solicitors under the law known as Section 17A. ....
Supreme Judicial Court rules law banning panhandling violates First Amendment rights of homeless people By John R. Ellement Globe Staff,Updated December 15, 2020, 4:14 p.m. Email to a Friend A panhandler along a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue in Boston in 2016.Keith Bedford/Globe Staff The First Amendment rights of homeless people were violated by a state law that made it a crime to flag down passing motorists to ask for cash, the stateâs highest court ruled unanimously Tuesday. The Supreme Judicial Court said the law, enacted in 1930, singled out and banned panhandling homeless people from public streets, while it exempted people from criminal charges if they were flagging down motorists to sell newspapers or roses. ....
After Fall River arrests, anti-panhandling law ruled unconstitutional by Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Updated Dec 15, 2020; The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a decision Tuesday deeming a state statute banning panhandling unconstitutional, ruling that homeless people can ask for donations on public roads just like anyone else. In a 23-page decision authored by Justice Barbara Lenk, the SJC states the statute infringed upon the individuals’ First Amendment rights. Lenk called the law both overly broad and “underinclusive”, targeting protected speech while failing to target activities that could affect traffic safety. “There can be little doubt that signaling to, stopping, or accosting motor vehicles for the purpose of soliciting donations on one’s own behalf poses no greater threat to traffic safety than engaging in the same conduct for other non-prohibited or exempted purposes, such as gathering signatures for a petition, flagging do ....