ACLU FILES MOTION TO DISMISS CHARGES BECAUSE ORDINANCE IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 28, 2011
CONTACT: ACLU of Florida Media Office, (786) 363-2737 or media@aclufl.org
Pensacola, FL – Escambia County Judge John Simon today granted Mark Brune’s Motion to withdraw his plea of no contest to charges of violating Escambia County’s panhandling ordinance and the ACLU and cooperating attorney Christopher Rabby this afternoon filed a motion to dismiss the charges in a claim that the County’s “panhandling” ban is an unconstitutional ban on free speech.
Brune was arrested by Escambia County deputies along Davis Highway on February 1, 2011 for violating the County’s ban on panhandling when he held a roadside sign requesting assistance.
Brune’s arrest was the first since Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan decided to reinstitute enforcing the ban in late January of this year. The ordinance was enacted by the County Commission March, 2007 and went largely unenforced until the Spring of 2010 but was halted in July of 2010 after free speech concerns were raised by ACLUFL and others.
“Escambia County’s ordinance is a clear case of government explicitly banning a particular kind of expression,” stated ACLU of Florida Staff Attorney Benjamin Stevenson who filed the request to represent Brune. “The First Amendment prohibits exactly this kind of government restriction to our rights. Holding a sign in public is free speech, not a crime.”
“The ordinance is clearly deeply flawed,” said Christopher Rabby, a private criminal defense attorney, cooperating counsel and lead attorney in the case. “It’s also puzzling to me, as a taxpayer, why the County is willing to spend significant money to arrest, detain, prosecute, and jail a person for holding a sign when it is easier and cheaper to provide help in the first place. At $50 per night, the county jail is an expensive and unproductive alternative to addressing the need in the first place.”
Brune, 48, graduated from Escambia High School in 1980 and already served 15 days in jail after his February 1st arrest for holding the sign. He initially plead no contest to the charge, but has asked the court to permit him to withdraw the plea so he may challenge the charge as an unconstitutional restriction of free speech.
If the request for dismissal of the charges is approved, Brune will have his conviction vacated, and not have to pay an estimated $350 in additional fines and costs. In Florida, failure to pay assessed fines could result in the suspension of a driver’s license or other penalties.
“I’m happy to have the help of the ACLU and others in my defense,” Brune said. “All I did is ask for some help. But the issue is bigger than that – the government should not be able to arrest you for what you say.”
“The constitutionally-protected right to free speech means that governments cannot limit expression simply because they don’t like it,” Stevenson said. “The government should not be the arbiter of ideas and censor speech or even threaten to jail speakers with whom it disagrees.”
Brune’s sign read: “Stranded Broke Hungry Please Help God Bless”. He was arrested and began his 15 days of incarceration after an Escambia deputy observed him receiving $2 from a motorist.
“The County violated Mr. Brune’s rights and has already spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on his arrest, jail and legal actions over a matter of two dollars,” said Stevenson.
An image of the sign which Mr. Brune was holding can be found here: http://www.aclufl.org/images/7words.JPG
A copy of the motion to dismiss can be found here: http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/20110328-BruneMotionDismiss.pdf
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About the ACLU of Florida
The ACLU of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our web site at: www.aclufl.org.
