MANDEVILLE, La (WGNO) — Responding to complaints from residents, Mandeville city leaders are asking a law firm for help dealing with panhandlers in the city.
During Thursday’s meeting of the Mandeville City Council, the council approved a resolution to hire the Holland & Knight law firm to research the topic.
“A 2015 Supreme Court ruling and subsequent federal court rulings have taken the position that panhandling is constitutionally protected speech,” Mayor Clay Madden told residents in a social media post announcing the plan to seek outside help.
According to Council at Large Member Rick Danielson, the city will spend a maximum of $5k for the law firm’s help. He told WGNO News that he hopes to get a list from the firm regarding ideas that have failed or might work.
In 2017, the City of Slidell faced a legal challenge against its plan to require panhandlers to get a permit before asking for money. In the end, the city abandoned the plan and agreed to pay $25k to the ACLU for its legal fees to battle the ordinance.
Danielson said that there’s no deadline for the law firm to provide its guidance, but he expected to the the results relatively quickly.
