Lawsuit filed against Morgantown for enforcing panhandling ordinance

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — Mountain State Justice (MSJ) has filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of West Virginia against the City of Morgantown for allegedly violating a man’s First Amendment rights with its recent “efforts to criminalize panhandling.”

The Monongalia County Commission passed the Vehicle and Pedestrian Safety Ordinance last fall , which prevents people from standing in highway medians and keeps drivers from interacting with pedestrians.

The lawsuit says that since the county ordinance was introduced last summer , Anthony Rowand, a plaintiff in the class-action suit, was ticketed for panhandling seven times within the City of Morgantown, including twice in one day. He seeks declaratory and injunctive relief and individual damages for the city violating his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the rights of people like him, the suit goes on to say.

“Anthony, who is the primary caretaker for his disabled partner, is wholly reliant on solicited charity for survival: absent the contributions of others, Anthony and his partner don’t eat,” said a press release from MSJ.

The lawsuit, which was filed April 22, is not against the county ordinance but rather against Morgantown’s way of enforcing it under Morgantown City Ordinance Section § 371.10 . The class in the lawsuit includes anyone who attempted to solicit money from drivers in the city on or after April 22, 2022.

You can read the full lawsuit here .

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