Pompano Beach Ban on Panhandling From Medians Is Constitutional

Pompona Beach, Fla.'s law that effectively bans panhandling from specific medians on busy highways doesn’t violate the First Amendment, because it reasonably furthers the city’s interest in road safety, a federal court said.

The Pompano Beach ordinance applies only to “paved medians that are more than three feet (but less than five feet) wide and which divide roadways with at least three travel lanes on either side,” Judge Roy K. Altman said Monday for the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Such a median isn’t a public forum, and the law doesn’t target speech or disfavor any ...