Federal judge ordering Oklahoma City to pay nearly $1 million to attorneys who successfully challenged an anti-panhandling ordinance

(AP) – A federal judge is ordering Oklahoma City to pay nearly $1 million to attorneys who successfully challenged an anti-panhandling ordinance adopted by the city. U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton issued his order in the case this week. A federal appeals court determined in 2020 that the ordinance placing restrictions on panhandling on street medians is an unconstitutional violation of free speech. Several attorneys for the Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union were among those who represented the plaintiffs. According to Heaton’s order, attorneys for the plaintiffs spent more than 2,400 hours working on the case.