Panhandler Gets Arrest Tossed

A city court judge in New Rochelle, N.Y., has found the arrest of a panhandler violated his free speech rights.

Eric Hoffstead had asked his lawyer to challenge his arrest after reading about a 1992 federal judge’s ruling that struck down a ban on panhandling.

The court also tossed a drug possession charge against Hoffstead, since it resulted from a search after the illegal arrest, according to the New York Times. Hoffstead still faces an unrelated trespassing charge.