ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - A lawsuit that seeks to overturn St. Louis County's anti-begging laws is set for trial in St. Louis federal court next month. Homeless man Robert Fernandez is represented by attorney Bevis Schock.
Schock describes his client as a "good, solid American citizen who gets money by begging" in south St. Louis County on Lindbergh Blvd. at the Interstate-55 exit.
He says the county's law requiring a license to stand on the corner holding a sign violates free speech. County police have ticketed Fernandez more than 40 times.
"The average person doesn't stand on the side of the road and ask for money," Schock says. "But the poor have always been with us, the poor will always be with us, there are a lot of reasons why people are poor. Sometimes it's because society has somehow caused problems for them, other times it's because they just want to be free."
Fernandez, a Mehlville High graduate in his mid-40s, filed the suit earlier this summer.
Related: County responds to homeless man's lawsuit: Begging isn't protected speech
"The First Amendment," the county previously stated, "does not guarantee the right to communicate at all times and places or in any manner that may be desired."
Schock previously told KMOX that holding a sign asking for money is the same as holding a sign that says "impeach the president."
The trial by judge is set for September 10th in St. Louis federal court before Judge Limbaugh.
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