Jury: Feeding Homeless No Crime
A Florida man did not violate an unusual municipal ordinance against feeding the homeless when he served up food at a public park in Orlando, a jury decided yesterday.
Although the prosecution had video footage of Eric Montanez, 22, participating in the organized meal at Lake Eola Park, it didn’t show that he himself actually fed more folks than the 25 allowed by the ordinance, reports WESH, a local NBC-affiliated station.
“Several groups have filed a federal lawsuit saying the law is unconstitutional and that lawsuit will be heard next year in federal court,” states the article, which is posted on WESH’s Web site. “Montanez admitted he thinks the law is silly and that it is arbitrarily enforced and criminalizes the poor, but he denied breaking the law on purpose to make a point.”
More details about the case are provided in an earlier ABAJournal.com post.
