The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a Redondo Beach ban on business solicitations of occupants of motor vehicles did not violate the U.S. Constitution. The case, Comite De Jornaleros v. Redondo Beach,[1] has an important impact on city leaders who wish to prohibit persons soliciting occupants of vehicles.
At issue in the case was a City of Redondo Beach ordinance,[2] prohibiting any person from standing on a street or sidewalk and soliciting employment, business, or contributions from occupants of motor vehicles. In 2004, Redondo Beach police officers began actively enforcing this ordinance at two intersections, arresting persons soliciting business for violating the ordinance and citing potential employers for violating traffic laws. Police officers also went undercover and posed as potential employers to arrest people soliciting business from occupants of motor vehicles.
Advocate groups for day laborers sued the city, arguing that the ordinance was an unconstitutional restriction of free speech. The city argued that the ordinance was necessary to prevent vehicles from stopping in traffic and causing dangerous conditions. The court agreed with the city, finding that the ordinance was content neutral, narrowly tailored to address legitimate traffic safety concerns, and left ample alternative channels of communication. Accordingly, the court held that the ordinance was not unconstitutional and did not violate the First Amendment’s right of free speech.
The court emphasized that the city did not aim to prohibit any particular message, idea, or form of speech; rather, it wanted to prohibit acts of solicitation directed toward the occupants of vehicles. Further, people arrested under the ordinance had adversely affected traffic by soliciting the occupants of stopped vehicles or by causing a driver to stop in traffic. The ordinance did not apply to solicitations made to occupants of cars that parked legally or solicitations made to a pedestrian.
Although likely to be appealed in the near future, this case affirms a city’s authority to restrict solicitations and protect public safety. A prior decision in the Ninth Circuit upheld a city ordinance prohibiting solicitations of occupants of motor vehicles from the streets. The court’s recent ruling will expand a city’s ability to prohibit solicitations made from sidewalks and curbs. This expansion could shape the way that municipalities regulate such groups as day laborers or other persons soliciting any business in public forums.
Alvarez-Glasman & Colvin serves as legal counsel to municipal agencies throughout California and is at the forefront of a wide variety of legal issues confronting local agencies. Please contact Associate Anthony Marinaccio at anthony@agclawfirm.com or (562) 699-5500 for more information regarding this case or other municipal law issues.
[1] Comite De Jornaleros v. Redondo Beach, No. 06-55750 (June 9, 2010).
[2] Redondo Beach Mun. Code § 3-7.1601(a) (2010) (“It shall be unlawful for any person to stand on a street or highway and solicit, or attempt to solicit, employment, business, or contributions from an occupant of any motor vehicle. For purposes of this section, “street or highway” shall mean all of that area dedicated to public use for public street purposes and shall include, but not be limited to, roadways, parkways,
