Panhandling?

Case Type:

Exigence:

John Jones, sitting in front of a restaurant at about 6 o'clock on September 28, 2001, asked a group of five UC Berkeley students on their way into a restaurant if they had any spare change. He was still there when they exited the restaurant an hour later, and presented them with a similar request. After they denied him, Jones got up and followed the students until the end of the block. While crossing the street, the students complained to a passing police officer, who proceeded to arrest Mr. Jones. Jones was tried and convicted under a Berkeley ordinance that prohibits "soliciting after dark, within ten feet of automatic teller machines, or at sidewalk cafes." The law also bans begging in a manner that "coerces, threatens, hounds, or intimidates," as well as soliciting, sitting, or lying within six feet of any building between 6 a.m. and midnight.

Audience:

Possible
Constraints:

Josh Kobrin, J., concurring.

Kara O'Brien, J., dissenting.

Decision:

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issues:

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