U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision In James Speet & Ernest Sims v. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette

August 14, 2013
On August 14, 2013, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower court decision that a 1930s-era Michigan law criminalizing begging was unconstitutional. The ruling came in a 2011 lawsuit filed by two unrelated homeless plaintiffs arrested in Grand Rapids for begging, one who panhandled for change and the other who silently held signs stating a need with messages such as “Cold and Hungry, God Bless” and “Need Job, God Bless.” The court said begging was an exercise of free speech, protected by the First Amendment. Three . . .