English
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Vietnamese‘It’s one thing to simply ask people for help. It’s a very different thing to ignore and disregard the laws that keep our streets safe and orderly’
LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement today:
“Loitering in and around public roadways, intersections, and traffic stops has grown to an unacceptable level. Anyone who has spent time in Arkansas’s larger municipalities over the past few years has undoubtedly had to watch out for people walking into the street, putting everyone’s safety at risk. Residents of our cities routinely drive by intersections, sidewalks, and parking lots where people have left all kinds of trash behind after loitering there for hours.
“We have a law that addresses this, but it’s not being enforced. So today I am calling on local law enforcement, and municipal and county leaders to begin enforcing our state’s loitering statute. Act 255 of 2023 fixed the previous constitutional issues with the statute by removing the language at issue, and our law now prohibits individuals from loitering in a harassing or threatening manner, in a way likely to cause alarm to another person, or under circumstances that create a traffic hazard or impediment. This law is constitutionally sound, and local law enforcement should enforce it.
“Federal courts have established that panhandling, by itself, is protected by the First Amendment, and I absolutely respect those decisions. It’s one thing to simply ask people for help. It’s a very different thing to ignore and disregard the laws that keep our streets safe and orderly.
“My office stands ready to help enforce our loitering statute.”
To read Act 255 of 2023, click here.
To download a PDF version of this press release, click here.
About Attorney General Tim Griffin
Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.
Griffin is currently an officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard and holds the rank of colonel. Griffin served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.
His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.
Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.
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