Glendale, Ariz. – On September 9, the Glendale City Council voted to repeal the ordinances (022-66, 022-67, and 023-04) that criminalized panhandling throughout the city, citing our lawsuit as a factor in their decision. This means Glendale police will no longer be able to fine or arrest people for asking others for financial assistance in public. This win is aligned with federal court decisions that have repeatedly struck down anti-panhandling ordinances as unconstitutional.
On July 30, 2025, three Glendale residents filed a lawsuit arguing that the city’s panhandling bans violate their First Amendment rights to engage in constitutionally protected speech. Represented by the ACLU of Arizona, Public Justice, and ASU’s First Amendment Clinic at Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, they also sought a preliminary injunction to stop Glendale from enforcing the ordinances prohibiting requests for money, donations, or other items of value in the city.
“Panhandling is no longer a crime in Glendale — and it never should have been,” said Lauren Beall, staff attorney for the ACLU of Arizona. “We applaud the City's decision to repeal the unconstitutional ordinances, but it should not have taken a lawsuit to get here. The First Amendment protects the right to ask for help, a basic human interaction. The Glendale and similar ordinances reflect an ignorance of the law and a cruel attitude towards those facing financial hardship.”
“It’s a shame that it took a civil rights lawsuit for Glendale to finally repeal these clearly unconstitutional ordinances," said Leslie Bailey, director of Public Justice’s Debtors’ Prison Project. “We hope other cities will see the writing on the wall and stop criminalizing panhandling without the need for litigation.”
“Without our clients’ determination to bring this lawsuit, it would still be a crime in Glendale to ask your neighbor for help,” said Aaron Baumann, assistant teaching professor for the First Amendment Clinic at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. “Repealing these unconstitutional laws is an admission that the First Amendment protects the poor and disadvantaged as well as the powerful.”
“All we can do is ask for help, and they can say no,” said Amy Hughes, plaintiff and Glendale resident. “But we need to have a chance to ask.”
The ACLU of Arizona advances equity and dismantles systemic injustice by taking legal action, influencing policy, and mobilizing our communities to protect the civil rights, liberties, and dignity of all Arizonans. For more information, visit www.acluaz.org.
Public Justice takes on the biggest systemic threats to justice of our time—abusive corporate power and predatory practices, the assault on civil rights and liberties, and the destruction of the earth’s sustainability. We connect high-impact litigation with strategic communications and the strength of our partnerships to fight these abusive and discriminatory systems and win social and economic justice. For more information, visit https://www.publicjustice.net/debtors-prison-project.
The First Amendment Clinic at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University was established to protect and defend First Amendment interests and to teach a new generation of lawyers how to help individuals stand up for their First Amendment rights.
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