ACLU Wins First Round in
Challenge to Colorado Begging Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 1996
The ACLU of Colorado won the first round today in its federal court challenge to a Colorado statute that makes it a crime to "loiter[] for the purpose of begging."
"The City and County of Denver has agreed that it will not enforce this statute while our litigation in federal court is pending," said Jerry Gordon, ACLU cooperating attorney. "This is a victory for our clients' First Amendment rights."
The stipulated agreement between the City and the ACLU was submitted in written form to the federal court in mid-August. Judge William F. Downs has now signed off on the agreement, which has the force of a court order. The ACLU received notice yesterday that the judge had signed.
The ACLU filed the federal class action lawsuit on July 23 on behalf of four homeless individuals who sit or stand by the roadside and use signs to ask for assistance from the public. Two of the plaintiffs had received citations for violating the Colorado statute. The other two had received warnings from Denver police.
On July 26, the ACLU filed a motion for a preliminary injunction arguing that enforcement of the statute violated the constitutional right of free speech. Because the parties negotiated an agreement, the hearing on that motion has now been taken off the court's calendar.
"Now that the City has agreed to stop enforcing this unconstitutional statute, there is no need for a preliminary injunction, " said Mark Silverstein, ACLU Legal Director. "The agreement gives our clients everything that we were asking the court to grant. Our clients will no longer face the risk of a criminal charge for exercising their First Amendment right to sit peacefully along the public right of way with signs informing the public that they are hungry, that they are homeless, and that they would appreciate assistance from the public."
The stipulated agreement and order remains in effect only until the federal court makes a final determination whether the Colorado statute is constitutional.