90 year-old Arnold Abbott serves food to the homeless with volunteers ( AP Photo/Lynne Sladky).

Southern Legal Counsel, together with the Law Offices of Mara Shlackman and the Legal Advocacy Center of Florida, is representing Food Not Bombs and four of its volunteers, whose First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated by a Fort Lauderdale ordinance which regulates the sharing of food in public places. Since the ordinance went into effect in November 2014, seven of Food Not Bombs’ Fort Lauderdale volunteers have been arrested for violating this ordinance.

Food Not Bombs is a political organization which expresses its political message of ending hunger by sharing meals in public spaces with anyone. Food sharing is essential to their message, as the organization believes that sharing a meal is a fundamentally social event which is more communicative of their political message than, for example, protesting by holding banners and signs.

Almost all cities have regulations that require permits for large gatherings in city parks and licenses for food distribution, however, some cities have recently begun to use these ordinances to prevent individuals and groups from giving away food to homeless persons.

SLC, Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association, and Three Rivers Legal Services Host
"Ask a Lawyer"

Ray Brady, left, president of the state’s Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association, talks with Marcie Green, middle, pro bono coordinator at Three Rivers Legal Services, and Wes Marston, a lawyer who volunteered at the event. ( Ayana Stewart/WUFT News).

Southern Legal Counsel has partnered with Three Rivers Legal Services, Inc. and the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association for “Ask a Lawyer,” a new initiative on the road to ending homelessness.

Through this program, attorneys at SLC and the other organizations will give their time to eliminate some of the legal barriers that cause people to remain homeless. SLC attorney Kirsten Clanton said, “Our collective goal is that no one in Gainesville is experiencing homelessness for lack of legal assistance.”

The first of many monthly “Ask a Lawyer” events took place on February 9 at GRACE Marketplace in Gainesville. Local news station WUFT covered the first event.

Even as he began his legal career, Spohrer saw the law as “an engine of enormous social change." He saw an opportunity to advocate for women, children and people who are homeless or otherwise underrepresented through the law. As a junior associate just starting in the field, Spohrer often spent several hours on Saturday mornings donating his time to Legal Aid.

After practicing law for many years, he said making an impact on people who need the most help is the most gratifying thing he does. “There’s nothing more satisfying professionally and intellectually than providing needed legal services to someone who has nowhere else to turn,” he said.

“I feel very privileged to be a lawyer and to represent people, and the practice has been good to me and my family,” he said. “It’s important for those of us who have benefited from law to give back.”

Spohrer said he identifies with SLC’s mission because it seeks to make “a sweeping change in the lives of many” through public interest law.

Rise Above The Mark: A Film Screening

LWV Oak Hammock Unit Chair June Girard, SLC Executive Director Jodi Siegel, and LWV Oak Hammock Unit Vice Chair Karen Miller.

Rise Above the Mark, a documentary aimed at improving the public education system, was screened at Oak Hammock on February 26 by SLC and the League of Women Voters.

Devoted to the struggles Indiana has faced with public school reform, Rise Above the Mark challenges its viewers to consider the adverse effects that occur when politics interferes with the educational system.

SLC Executive Director Jodi Siegel spoke about the severity of this issue and how SLC is working to achieve a high quality public school system for all children in the state of Florida at the event.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
An Evening with Alberto Carvalho 

2014 National Superintendent of the Year Alberto Carvalho speaking to students in the Miami Dade County Public School District.

On March 19, Southern Legal Counsel Board Members together with Holland & Knight Miami will honor 2014 National Superintendent of the Year Alberto Carvalho at the Miami Law Offices of Holland & Knight from 6 to 8 p.m. As we pursue our goal of holding the State accountable for providing a high-quality system of public education, we remain grateful for the local public school officials who have worked to improve public education in their own districts. It is with this in mind that we will honor Carvalho. Carvalho will speak on the state of education in Florida at the event.

Southern Legal Counsel recently received the Defending Basic Freedoms Grant from the Herb Block Foundation for a project challenging the criminalization of homelessness. The grant will provide training to Florida’s public defenders and private criminal defense lawyers to better prepare them for defending homeless individuals, said SLC attorney Kirsten Clanton.

Among the training materials provided by the grant money will be a free manual distributed across Florida and webinars that expand on the manual.

While public defenders are on the front lines of the battle against the criminalization of homelessness, Clanton said they are often overburdened and that the training materials will help them better understand the statutes and ordinances used against those experiencing homelessness.

“It’s often the youngest and least experienced attorneys who are the ones defending them,” Clanton said. “There is a whole array of legal and factual defenses that they can and should be using on behalf of our clients.

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What: An Evening with Alberto Carvalho
When: March 19 @ 6 p.m.
Where: Holland & Knight 
701 Brickell Avenue, Ste. 3300
Miami, FL 33131

What: Community Partner Nights 
When: April 15 @ 6 p.m.
Where: Hippodroem Theatre, East Gallery 
25 SE 2nd Pl,
Gainesville, FL 32601

Robert F. Spohrer, Chair
Bennett Brummer
Elizabeth L. Bevington
Raul A. Cuervo
William S. Graessle
Tim D. Haines
Berta Hernández-Truyol
Dr. Vivian L. Hobbs
William Kalish
Tiffani G. Lee
Barbara Bolton Litten
Dixon Ross McCloy, Jr.
Peg O'Connor
Robert A. Rush
Tom Scarritt
Harry L. Shorstein

Deborah E. Cupples
Raemi Eagle-Glenn
Goodwin Procter LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
Eric J. Lindstrom
Macfarlane Ferguson &
    McMullen
Jon L. Mills
Timothy McLendon
Maru Opabola
Gabriela M. Ruiz
Meagan Standard
Jonathan Stratton, Holland
   & Knight
Ryan Torrens
Nancy E. Wright

Southern Legal Counsel
1229 NW 12th Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32601
Phone: 352.271.8890
Fax: 352.271.8347
Email: slc@southernlegal.org