Draper halts panhandling citations after lawsuit


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Updated: 6/20/2012 11:19 am | Published: 6/20/2012 10:50 am
Gavel (ABC 4 News)
Gavel (ABC 4 News)
DRAPER, Utah (AP) - Draper officials say they will stop issuing panhandling citations until a lawsuit against the city is resolved.

The Deseret News reports Salt Lake City civil rights attorney Brian Barnard filed a complaint last week in U.S. District Court that claims police continued issuing citations under a state statute that has been deemed unconstitutional.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a homeless Salt Lake County man who has been prosecuted numerous times, and as recently as this month.

U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart struck down the law in March. He said it was so broad it could prohibit children from selling lemonade in their neighborhoods.

Stewart ruled the actions of four panhandlers cited by Salt Lake police and the Utah Highway Patrol were protected under the First Amendment.

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Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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