USA
August 20, 2001 VNN6864 Comment on this story
Judge Rules For L.A. Solicitors
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
USA, Aug 20 (VNN) — LOS ANGELES (AP) - 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 Monday 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.
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 contend the airport is already congested enough and solicitors pose a safety hazard by distracting travelers. City officials 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 district judge also ruled the city law was illegal under the state constitution. The decision was overruled by the 9th 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.
Copyright The Associated Press
 Comment on this storyContact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend This story URL: http://vaishnava-news-network.org/usa/US0108/US20-6864.html
NEWS DESK | USA | TOP
Surf the Web on
|
