Opinion ID: 2266381
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Warren L. Taylor and Gerald Patrick McFarlin

Text: Mr. Taylor and Mr. McFarlin are professional musicians. They often played together in the above ground area of the Metro Center subway station. They regarded their playing at subway stops as an advertisement of their services. A September 15, 1993, information charged both men with panhandling or begging, in a prohibited area to wit: Metro station in violation of D.C. Act 10-34, effective June 9, 1993. Around 1:50 in the afternoon of July 21, 1993, Mr. McFarlin set up his electric keyboard which was about two feet long, two speakers and a battery in the roofed-in, above ground area of the Metro Center station stop, at 13th and G Streets, N.W. Three escalators were located at the stop; the one closest to the street was an ascending escalator and the other two were descending. Mr. Taylor had his saxophone, and a bucket was placed near him. The men played music and passersby dropped money in the bucket, although the men never asked for any money. The men asserted that money was given to them because of their skill and musical ability. Officer Carol Triplett of the Metro Transit Police saw Mr. McFarlin and Mr. Taylor while she was on duty and as she was about to get off the escalator ascending from the interior part of the Metro Center subway station to the street area. The men were closest to the two escalators that descended into the station; the middle escalator was not working. Officer Triplett initially thought that Mr. McFarlin was about sixteen feet from the escalators, and Mr. Taylor approximately eleven and a half feet. However, the hearing commissioner later questioned both her estimates of distance, and the need for any focus on distance. He made no factual findings regarding how far the men were located from the top of the escalator. Officer Triplett saw only a few subway passengers in the area, and did not observe Mr. McFarlin or Mr. Taylor blocking their passageway. The men stopped playing when they saw Officer Triplett and Mr. McFarlin started to put his equipment away. Other officers arrived on the scene, and Officer Triplett arrested the men for panhandling. The money in the bucket, amounting to eighty dollars and sixty-eight cents, was taken as evidence. After a hearing before a trial court hearing commissioner, § 3(b) of the Act was ruled to be constitutional, and Mr. McFarlin and Mr. Taylor were found guilty of violating the statutory provision. In an oral decision announced on February 1, 1994, the commissioner made few findings of fact, and most of his ruling was directed to the constitutionality of the statute, and the issue as to whether the presence of the bucket represented begging by the musicians, within the meaning of § 3(b). He concluded that: (1) the statute was content neutral in that it prohibited all conduct designed or done for the purpose of obtaining an immediate donation of money or thing of value; (2) the statute reflected a compelling governmental interest in the safety and security of the commuting public and was narrowly tailored to achieve that interest; (3) the statute imposed no prohibition on those wishing only to play music at or near a subway stop; and (4) Mr. Taylor and Mr. McFarlin were professional musicians, not beggars, but they were soliciting according to the broadened definition of alms contained in the statute and actually received money. He made no finding regarding how many feet Mr. McFarlin and Mr. Taylor were away from the subway escalator. Each man was ordered to pay a $10 fine. A motion to review and reverse the commissioner's decision was duly made, and was denied by the trial court on March 8, 1994. The trial judge stated in part I'm satisfied with [the] commissioner['s] ... ruling ... [because] he was correct. A joint notice of appeal was filed, but was withdrawn after Mr. McFarlin and Mr. Taylor became aware of the need to seek allowance of appeal within three days of judgment, pursuant to D.C.Code §§ 11-721(c), 17-301, and 17-307(b) (1989 Repl.). They were resentenced on May 23, 1994; the sentence was affirmed by the trial court on May 31, 1994; and on June 1, 1994, an application for allowance of appeal was filed. This court granted the application on August 24, 1994.