Media and Publications
First Amendment:
Clay’s Planned Adult Entertainment Ordinances Successful Elsewhere
“We are not regulating speech, we are regulating the secondary effects of speech,” Times Union Article – April 12, 2014
Panhandling Ordinances:
Daytona Beach:
Panhandlers face immediate crackdown as Daytona passes tough rules– Daytona Beach News-Journal
At their meeting Wednesday night, city commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a tough new set of rules that now ban panhandling in most all of the hot spots that have proven to be lucrative to the beggars — many of whom police have said are con artists. The 7-0 vote got a round of applause from the dozens of people packed into the City Hall meeting room.
New Daytona law scares off panhandlers – Daytona Beach News-Journal
It was like someone flipped a switch.
[A resident] said he normally drives through a gauntlet of panhandlers on his commute into work. On Thursday, he didn’t see a single one. “I was very ecstatic,” he said. “The city should have a parade to celebrate.”
MARK LANE: Panhandling ordinance applauded, now come the tests– Daytona Beach News-Journal
. . . Daytona Beach’s ordinance was so carefully drawn. It’s not a blanket ban, but it does have limits based on documented public safety concerns and economic impacts. It seeks to balance the free speech rights of panhandlers against the right of residents to use their public spaces freely and safely.
New Daytona panhandling law clears out beggars– Daytona Beach News-Journal
Just a few hours after Daytona Beach’s tough new panhandling law went into effect Wednesday night, about 80 percent of the city’s street corner beggars put down their handwritten signs and disappeared.
OUR VIEW: A welcome respite from aggressive pleas – Daytona Beach News-Journal
Just like that, the panhandlers are gone. . . . This welcome transformation took place, literally, overnight.
PAT RICE: Daytona Beach looks so much better sans panhandlers – Herald Tribune
Until the ordinance passed, the panhandlers were harassing tourists and chasing off customers to hotels, shops and other businesses near the Boardwalk and at various beachside intersections. . . . The panhandling ordinance may be the most popular step the Daytona Beach City Commission has taken in years.
Daytona panhandling law yields 56 arrests in February – Daytona Beach News-Journal
A total of 56 arrests have been made since Daytona Beach city commissioners unanimously approved tougher panhandling regulations, a development welcomed by business owners, motorists, tourists and residents throughout town.
“I think it’s going extremely well,” Daytona Beach police Chief Craig Capri said. “We’re getting nothing but compliments.”
Panhandling:
How can Melbourne silence beggars?
“There are a lot of misconceptions about the First Amendment. One of them is that people can use it as a shield for actions that are societally unacceptable and dangerous. That’s what we’re talking about here.”
Matt Reed Show
“Sidewalks in this Country have been used to disseminate ideas sometimes comfortable…sometimes not comfortable”
Corruption Tax Bill:
Matt Reed Show – September 23, 2015
Pass our Bill: Cut Florida’s “Corruption Tax”
“Michael Kahn, is a litigator and member of FLORIDA TODAY’s editorial advisory board who has experience writing legislation and lobbying. Kahn drafted the model bill, pro bono.”
Publications:
Brevard Bar Journal – October 2002
The Origination and Early Development of Free Speech in the United States – A Brief Overview
Florida Today Editorial Advisory Board:
Supreme Court or Supreme Ruler?
I wonder if Alexander Hamilton were alive today whether he would still adhere to his belief as stated in Federalist 78 in the “feebleness” of the judiciary and that the Supreme Court has “neither Force nor Will, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments.
How the Rule of Law Keeps Us Free
Thomas Jefferson famously wrote in an 1802 letter to religious leaders: “I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”
Salute Vets Who Carried on the “unfinished work“
On D-Day, there were 10,000 allied casualties in a battle that took place more than 3,000 miles from the American soldiers’ homes. Those who survived the landing continued to fight to help free Europe from the crushing grip of the Nazis. The brave young Americans buried at Normandy have consecrated that hallowed ground far beyond our powers to add or detract from that honor. If they had not given their lives on those far away beaches to stem the tide of the Nazis, then our own freedom would have been imperiled.
Journalism of Action
Crusading journalism has a storied legacy throughout the history of our great country.
Giving Back – Community:
Brevard Bar Foundation – Giving Back
“We want more of the county to know of our work so they can partake of donations by submitting requests”
Professionalism Award
Attorney Kahn Honored by Bar Association – Florida Today, Business News Makers
The Professionalism Award is given in recognition “of tireless pursuit and practice of the highest ideals and tenets of the legal profession.” Also noted is consistently demonstrating the essential attributes of professionalism: character, competence and commitment.
Multi-District Litigation – Opioid Lawsuit
City of Palm Bay takes on Big Pharma – WESH2
Just as in so many other cities, people are dying of opioid overdoses in Palm Bay. The City Council has voted to sue the drug industry, for causing the opioid crisis.
“It’s false marketing. It’s fraud. It’s a public nuisance,” said local attorney Michael Kahn, who is part of a legal team that’ll try to extract as much as $100 billion to pay for the alleged damages.
Palm Bay to file opioid lawsuit against Big Pharma– Florida Today
Palm Bay takes on ‘Big Pharma’ in state court – Hometown News