Federal judge says Indiana's new panhandling law 'unconstitutional'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A federal judge blocked a law Tuesday that would have banned most forms of panhandling in Indiana.

U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson granted a preliminary injunction after concluding that the law “is an unconstitutional prohibition on the freedom of speech.”

The law, House Enrolled Act 1022, was set to take effect Wednesday and would have prohibited panhandling within 50 feet of a bank, ATM, restaurant, business or place where a financial transaction takes place, including parking garages and parking meters. The law also would have prohibited panhandling within 50 feet of a public monument.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed suit to stop the law from going into effect, saying that it amounted to an unconstitutional attack on free speech.

Ken Falk, legal director of the ACLU of Indiana, said that the law would have left “virtually no sidewalks in downtown Indianapolis or any downtown area in any Indiana city” where people could panhandle or even solicit donations.

Indiana’s law defines soliciting donations as panhandling because staff and volunteers request an immediate donation of money, according to a story by FOX59.

Magnus-Stinson wrote that the state attorney general’s office failed to provide evidence linking panhandling to business disruptions or escalations to criminal behavior.

“This case is not a close call, because Defendants submit no evidence whatsoever to support the notion that the statute furthers a compelling governmental interest,” Magnus-Stinson said.

Jane Henegar, executive director at the ACLU of Indiana, said, “The Indiana legislature should be trying to remedy the reasons driving homelessness and joblessness. Criminalizing poverty is never a solution.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.