A U.S. District Court judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining order against Hawaii County, preventing police from interfering with a man’s right to hold a sign in public stating that he is homeless and needs help.

The ACLU of Hawaii and the law firm of Davis Levin Livingston filed a lawsuit last week against the county challenging its panhandling ordinance on behalf of Justin Guy, a homeless man who in June held a sign saying “Homeless Please Help” while standing to the side of a Kailua-Kona street.

Big Island police told Guy that panhandling was illegal and he received a citation. But the ACLU said the panhandling law violates the First Amendment that guarantees freedom of speech as well as the Fourth Amendment prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures and the 14th Amendment on equal protection.

The ACLU wants the court to invalidate the Hawaii County law, order the county’s police department to stop threatening Guy and to award him damages.

Justin Guy

County solicitation ordinance — section 14-75 — lists 12 prohibited acts, including, “No person shall solicit in an aggressive manner in any public place” and “No person shall solicit an operator or other occupant of a motor vehicle while such vehicle is located on any street, for the purpose of performing or offering to perform a service in connection with such vehicle or otherwise soliciting the sale of goods or services.”

In granting the TRO, Judge Susan Oki Mollway said Guy “is likely to succeed on the merits of his challenge” to Hawaii County’s panhandling ordinance because “it appears to draw a distinction based on content.”

Mollway wrote, “A person seeking to persuade someone to support a position on abortion, global warming, or any other issue may employ the same forceful tactics the County says it wants to bar Guy from engaging in, yet solicitation for political agreement is not  included within section 14-75’s reach.”

The judged added, “In fact, even a solicitation for money that did not seek an immediate transfer of money would fall outside the scope of section 14-75. Thus, someone seeking pledges of future payment would be unrestricted by the ordinance.”

In a press release late Friday from the ACLU, Guy said, “The County of Hawaii should treat homeless people with dignity, and recognize that we have constitutional rights — including the right to free speech — just like everyone else.”

The county could not be reached for comment after hours Friday. But the county’s response is due by Jan. 5. The hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction will be held on Jan. 21.