Court Issues Opinion on Trespassing Ordinance

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, the Southern Legal Counsel, and Florida Institutional Legal Services have won an important victory in their constitutional challenge of a St. Petersburg trespassing law.

The Eleventh Circuit Court's decision overturns a lower court's initial dismissal of the lawsuit.   According to the Law Center and its partners, the ordinance violates their homeless clients' rights to freedom of movement and procedural due process.

"As homelessness increases across the country, many cities are responding by criminalizing homeless people's presence in public spaces," said Heather Johnson, civil rights attorney at the Law Center.  "St. Petersburg is a particularly egregious example of a larger trend.  The 11th Circuit's decision is not only a victory for the local homeless population, but also sets an important national precedent."

The trespassing ordinance authorizes the City to exclude people from public property by issuing a trespassing warning.  The lawsuit alleges that the City has used the ordinance to ban homeless individuals from public parks, as well as surrounding sidewalks and bus stops.  Under the ordinance, people are not given an avenue to challenge any warnings they receive without risking arrest.

Restricting access to public pathways may violate the plaintiffs' right to intrastate travel, and the failure to allow homeless people to challenge trespassing warnings has severe implications under the Due Process Clause.

"We're pleased with the appellate court's decision about the trespassing ordinance because it affirms that all people have rights to access public space and freely move around on public sidewalks," said SLC attorney Kirsten Clanton.  "This is about basic fairness and human decency.  We're committed to ensuring homeless people in St. Petersburg enjoy the full range of rights available to everyone else."