Overview
- A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order that prevents Phoenix from enforcing its parks ordinance against St. Herman’s Table and founder Lance Brace, and the order took effect on June 10 and runs through June 24.
- Judge Krissa M. Lanham found the plaintiffs likely to succeed on a First Amendment Free Exercise claim because the ordinance singles out food distribution based on motivation and is not neutral or generally applicable.
- The ordinance makes unpermitted food distribution or medical aid in parks a misdemeanor, caps permits in some parks at two per month, requires burdens like high liability insurance, and bans needle-exchange activities and needle-administered naloxone.
- Phoenix says the rule is neutral and aims to protect park users from trash, crowds, property damage and open drug use, and the city has said it will comply with the court’s narrow order while defending the law.
- The court ordered the parties to file a joint statement by June 15 on whether to consolidate preliminary-injunction briefing with the merits, a step that could lead to a longer injunction or a full merits decision with wider implications for charitable outreach and harm-reduction services.