KANSAS CITY— A man who is living out of his car in Joplin filed a complaint against the city in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri alleging city laws unconstitutionally restrict his freedom of speech.
Snyder's American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri attorneys, Anthony Rothert and Gillian Wilcox, filed the lawsuit on April 26.
The Joplin City Code regulates panhandling in the city and prohibits any person in a public place from stating that the donation is needed to meet a specific need when the solicitor already has sufficient funds and does not disclose such fact.
Snyder contends that the city code is unconstitutional on its face and as applied because it "violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution," according to court documents.
The complaint argues solicitation of immediate donations for money or other items of value is an expressive communication subject to First Amendment protection. It alleges the city code is unconstitutional because it prohibits a substantial amount of protected speech.
Snyder and his wife became homeless after Snyder unexpectedly lost his job. They began living out of their car and panhandling to secure donations of food and money.
Snyder argues a Joplin police officer warned him that he was violating the law by panhandling within a 150-square foot area where panhandling is prohibited. The officer asked for Snyder's identification and filed an official warning in the department's computer system. Snyder contends this led him to stop panhandling to avoid arrest.
On the same day that Snyder encountered the first Joplin police officer, he and his wife tried panhandling near the intersection of 15th Street and Rangeline Road. A second police officer told the couple that panhandling is illegal in the city. The police officer also allegedly yelled, "You don't got a job?" at Snyder.
Snyder pleaded his case with the officer, asserting panhandling is protected under the First Amendment.
The court documents stated that it is the proper venue for the case because Joplin is located in Jasper County, Missouri, and its "actions giving rise to the claim in this suit occurred in Jasper County."