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CITY'S PANHANDLING BAN UPHELD BY COURT OF APPEALS

Michael Barton was ticketed in downtown Rochester for wading into traffic and soliciting money from passing motorists in violation of Section 44-4(H) of that city's Municipal Code.* The law's aim is to "provide for the free flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on the streets and sidewalks in the City," and to discourage behavior that would be "disruptive" to drivers and "divert their attention from the traffic on the street."

Mr. Barton's attorneys alleged the law was overbroad and violative of the "Free Speech Clauses of the Federal and New York State Constitutions." While a Rochester City Court judge agreed with that contention, the Monroe County Supreme Court reversed since the law is "content neutral," "narrowly tailored," and one which did not foreclose "other channels of communication."

On appeal, the New York State Court of Appeals affirmed the reversal. Our state's highest court was of the opinion that the law addressed a legitimate government interest, to wit: eliminating vehicular related distractions and promoting traffic safety and flow.  As the court observed:

In this case, the governmental interests served by section 44-4(H) ... are significant. Further, section 44-4(H) is not a blanket ban .... This provision does not prohibit requests seeking something other than a handout. Moreover, section 44-4(H) does not proscribe non-aggressive soliciting directed at pedestrians on the sidewalk; therefore, it leaves open ample alternative avenues to communicate any message of indigency or need through begging.

With the ban upheld, we wonder where Barton is now?

For a copy of the Court of Appeals's decision in People v. Barton, please use the following link: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2006/2006_09499.htm

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*The law provides that no "person on a sidewalk or alongside a roadway shall solicit from any occupant of a motor vehicle that is on a street or other public place," with the word "solicit" encompassing any "spoken, written, or printed word or such other acts or bodily gestures as are conducted in furtherance of the purposes of immediately obtaining money or any other thing of value."

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