(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) A man holds a sign on the I-15 off ramp at 11400 South in Draper, Monday, June 11, 2012.<\/p>\n
Steve Ray Evans relies on a hand-lettered sign and the kindness of strangers to make it day-to-day, but a federal lawsuit filed Monday says Draper is trying to bar his constitutional right to stand on a public sidewalk and ask for help. <\/p>\n
The city is enforcing the same statute a federal judge struck down in March, said Brian Barnard, a Salt Lake City civil rights attorney representing Evans. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The law <\/p>\n
In March, a federal judge found language in Utahs law against use of a roadway by pedestrians too broad. That law says: A person may not sit, stand or loiter on or near a roadway for the purpose of soliciting from the occupant of a vehicle: a ride, contributions, employment, the parking, watching, or guarding of a vehicle; or other business. <\/p>\n
\"Its like Draper city hasnt gotten the news,\" Barnard said. <\/p>\n
Evans is unemployed, homeless and does not receive Social Security or disability benefits. Instead, he holds a sign while standing on public sidewalks and in other public areas requesting work and financial donations from passersby, an activity that provides his only source of income, Barnard said. <\/p>\n
But Evans has been cited and prosecuted by Draper police under a statute they claim bars people standing near roadways from soliciting money. <\/p>\n
\"As of a week ago, Draper City police officers flat out told our client it is illegal to panhandle in the state of Utah, which is a misstatement of the law, and told him if he continued to do so that they would cite him or arrest him,\" Barnard said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Go here to see the original: (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) A man holds a sign on the I-15 off ramp at 11400 South in Draper, Monday, June 11, 2012. Steve Ray Evans relies on a hand-lettered sign and the kindness of strangers to make it day-to-day, but a federal lawsuit filed Monday says Draper is trying to bar his constitutional right to stand on a public sidewalk and ask for help. Continue reading
\nPanhandler says city of Draper quashing his free speech<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"