Judge: Panhandling laws can be enforced for now
The city of CLEVELAND — Cleveland can enforce its panhandling ordinances amid an ongoing lawsuit about whether those laws are constitutional, a federal judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent denied a request for a preliminary injunction that would have barred the city from enforcing two laws — one that puts restrictions on asking for money along sidewalks, and one that affects streets and highways — as the lawsuit is pending.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed a lawsuit earlier this year on behalf of disabled Army veteran John Mancini and the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. The lawsuit argues the panhandling laws are unconstitutional because they infringe on free-speech rights.
The ACLU requested the temporary restraining order after an officer spoke to Mancini on March 11 in Playhouse Square. The officer “harassed” Mancini while discussing the lawsuit, but the officer did not ticket him, the ACLU said.
Nugent ruled Friday that the ACLU’s request for a preliminary injunction failed to demonstrate how continued enforcement of the laws would cause irreparable injury to Mancini. An injunction would also impact the city, which has argued the panhandling laws protect public safety, he said.
“Mr. Mancini was not issued a citation and defendants indicate in briefing that Mr. Mancini may continue to panhandle within the city in a manner and in areas consistent with the ordinances as written,” Nugent wrote in his ruling on the preliminary injunction. “Further, if successful on the merits of his claims, any loss of income alleged by Mr. Mancini as a result of the Ordinances would be addressed as potential damages.”
The sides will agree on a schedule to submit briefs in the case at an status conference today. The court will rule on the case after reviewing the briefs, Friday’s ruling says.
The city’s law affecting roadways has been in effect since 2002, while the one affecting sidewalks has been on the books since 2006. The city said in a motion last month that the laws were passed “to protect the public from aggressive solicitation that arises to the level of criminal activity and known hazards to health and safety on the city’s busy sidewalks, busy public streets and highways.”
The ACLU has argued that the city’s increased enforcement of its panhandling ordinances has caused problems with the city’s homeless population.
Cleveland’s laws are similar to those struck down by other courts in Ohio and across the country, an attorney for the ACLU argued. They are also similar to an ordinance the city of Akron repealed in May, an action that also came in the wake of an ACLU lawsuit.
Lafayette Twp. MEDINA — Trustee Bryon Macron was stabbed several times before his body was dumped in a lake, according to a preliminary autopsy report reviewed by a Cleveland TV station as part of a settlement of a public records lawsuit.
WKYC filed suit against Medina County, which refused to allow reporters to view preliminary autopsy report in Macron’s death. Prosecutors allowed WKYC reporters, but no others, to view the documents Wednesday as part of its settlement of the case.
Prosecutors scheduled an 8:30 a.m. viewing of the documents by all other reporters who requested to view the report.
The report says Macron, who disappeared in December, was stabbed in his neck, forearms and shoulder, according to WKYC.
Macron, 45, went missing Dec. 16.
A Lafayette Twp. employee found his office in disarray, and it appeared there had been a struggle. His unoccupied SUV was found hours later in a public parking lot at Chippewa Lake, authorities said at the time. There was blood found inside the vehicle.
A kayaker came across a body in the lake Feb. 21, and the Medina County Sheriff ’s Office confirmed it was Macron the next day.
In February, neighbors shared their feelings with cleveland.com, noting the bizarre nature of the disappearance of the married father of three.
Medina County Common Pleas Court Christopher Collier determined Wednesday that the preliminary autopsy report “could qualify as a public record subject to closure to a journalist,” not just WKYC, according to court records.
Assistant Medina County Prosecutor Mike Lyons denied a cleveland.com reporter’s request to view the report Wednesday afternoon. He said that part of the resolution of the case allowed WKYC to review the report before any other news outlet.
Ohio law allows journalists to review preliminary autopsy and investigative notes and findings, but reporters are not allowed to take notes or make copies of the reports. Cleveland.com made a written request to view the report on March 10.