Federal judge strikes down L.A. law barring donation-seekers at airport
By The Associated Press,
freedomforum.org staff
08.08.01
LOS ANGELES — A city ordinance that prohibits solicitors from seeking donations at Los Angeles International Airport violates free-speech rights, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall said in a 10-page opinion made public Aug. 6 that the ordinance violated the state Constitution, responding to a court challenge by the Society of Krishna Consciousness and the Committee for Human Rights in Iran. Both groups solicit money at the airport.
The California Constitution expands upon the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment by granting that "[e]very person may freely speak, write and publish his or her sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of this right. A law may not restrain or abridge liberty of speech or press."
Marshall said the two groups weren't blocking ticket counters, baggage claim areas or arrival and departure gates. She left the door open, however, for airport authorities to restrict the "time, place and manner" in which solicitors can ask for money.
City officials have contended that the airport already is congested enough and solicitors pose a safety hazard by distracting travelers. City officials said haven't decided whether they will appeal the judge's decision or draft a new ordinance that could withstand legal challenges.
Los Angeles has spent more than 25 years enacting laws and regulations to ban solicitors. But each law has been challenged by civil liberties lawyers. The current law, adopted in 1997, has never been enforced because it was immediately challenged.
Violators who ask for money anywhere inside the airport terminals would face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
In 1998, a federal judge also ruled the city law was illegal under the state Constitution. The decision was overruled by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sent it back to the district court.
"Unless there truly is a pedestrian flow problem, then I don't think any regulations of that kind are going to be justified in a practical or constitutional sense," said Barry A. Fisher, an attorney for the Society of Krishna Consciousness. The group has successfully sued airports in several cities for the right to solicit donations.