28-05-2025
Three residents sue Miami over anti-panhandling law, argue it's unconstitutional
In 2023 and 2024, Miami police officers made nearly 400 arrests of people 'aggressively' panhandling in city limits, according to a new lawsuit. The suit, which hopes to overturn the law, argues that the city's ordinance violates the First Amendment and does not apply to other forms of speech, like a political candidate asking for support or a church member proselytizing.
The city of Miami enacted the ordinance prohibiting 'aggressive' or 'obstructive' panhandling in 2000, according to the lawsuit. Violators can be fined $100 or jailed for up to 30 days for a first offense, or fined $200 and jailed up to 60 days for subsequent offenses.
The Florida Justice Institute, a coalition of civil-rights attorneys, filed its lawsuit against the city last week, arguing that the ordinance infringes on residents' constitutional rights, including the First Amendment right to free speech, and targets marginalized groups such as the homeless.
'As far as we can tell, it's only been enforced against poor and presumptively homeless people who've been asking for money,' said Dante P. Trevisani, an attorney with the institute. The lawsuit adds that the ordinance's definition of 'aggressive' is vague and therefore unconstitutional.
The city has not yet responded to the lawsuit in court, and a city spokesperson did not provide a response to the allegations when contacted by the Miami Herald.
The plaintiffs in the case, Patrick Mazzone, Albert Steve Sandlin and Andrew Biess, have all been arrested for violating the ordinance. Several arrest reports cited them as 'disrupting the flow of traffic' by panhandling. The three men are all longtime Miami residents who have experienced homelessness and rely on donations to make a living, according to the complaint.
The city's 'punitive measures … perpetuate a cycle where homeless persons accrue fines they cannot pay, often leading to arrest and further barriers to stable employment and housing,' Florida Justice Institute attorneys argue in court documents.
Each of the plaintiffs said they wish to continue to request donations but have 'been continually harassed and threatened by the police with arrest' and fear being arrested again under the ordinance.
The legality of panhandling has been debated heavily in recent years. Several lawsuits have been filed across the country regarding similar laws, including in New Mexico, Alabama and New Hampshire. Lawsuits have also been filed across Florida in places like Seminole County, Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville.
While courts have allowed cities to put certain regulations on panhandling, they have also blocked laws that inhibit the right to free speech, according to the nonpartisan Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University.
Previous cases
This is not the first time the city of Miami has been sued by the Florida Justice Institute. In December 2023, the organization sued the city over another panhandling ordinance that applied to the downtown core — an ordinance that had been declared unconstitutional in 2017, according to a press release from the institute. The city ultimately repealed the ordinance.
Willie White, who was 65 at the time of the 2023 lawsuit, served as the plaintiff in that case. He had been arrested twice for panhandling in the span of a month. The city eventually settled with White for $45,000.
In a different case, four plaintiffs experiencing homelessness sued the city in 2022 after city workers trashed their personal belongings, which included government identification, medication, family photos and an urn with a parent's ashes, the Herald previously reported.
The city eventually paid a $300,000 settlement for that case in 2024.
