U.S. Judge Cites Free Speech, Voids Ban on Park, Street Panhandling

A federal judge on Thursday ruled that begging is a form of free speech and held that New York City’s ban on panhandling on public streets and in parks is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet said an individual’s right to beg is protected by the First Amendment.

His decision follows a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in June that allowed New York to bar panhandlers from airports because a terminal is not a traditional public forum like a street or a park. The high court said governments can only regulate speech at public forums to serve a “compelling interest.”

“Conduct and expression are inexplicably intertwined here. The simple question is, ‘Can society ban all forms of begging?’ The simple answer is ‘No,’ ” Sweet said.

A class-action suit was brought in 1990 by two homeless people against the New York City Police Department, which enforces city ordinances. The plaintiffs have never been arrested, but they were asked by police to stop begging and to move along. The suit was brought on behalf of the city’s needy.

“A peaceful beggar poses no threat to society,” Sweet said. “The beggar has arguably only committed the offense of being needy.”

This marked the second time in two years that a district judge found a city anti-begging ban unconstitutional. In 1990, U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand said the city could not outlaw begging on subways. However, his ruling was overturned by the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that begging was conduct and not speech. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, allowing the ban to continue.

In June, the Supreme Court also upheld a ban by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey against begging at the three airports in the New York area.