It thus does not deal with the question of whether certain conduct cannot constitutionally be punished because it is, in some sense, involuntary or occasioned by a compulsion.. According to Justice White, if [Robinson] was convicted for being an addict who had lost his power of self-control, I would have other thoughts about this case. Id. at 559, 88 S.Ct. at 667, 97 S.Ct. It also reports that between 33% and 50% of the homeless in Los Angeles are mentally ill, and 76% percent of homeless adults in 1990 had been employed for some or all of the two years prior to becoming homeless. See Hodgers-Durgin v. de la Vina, 199 F.3d 1037, 1041 (9th Cir.1999) (en banc) (citing Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. 1, 15, 118 S.Ct. 1660; see also O'Shea v. Littleton, 414 U.S. 488, 496, 498, 94 S.Ct. Jones argues that LAMC 41.18(d) makes criminal what biology and circumstance make necessary, that is, sitting, lying, and sleeping on the streets. 22 BC536272); Bransford v City of Los Angeles (Case No. That provision protects individuals convicted of crimes from punishment that is cruel and unusual. (This study is not part of the record, either.). Against this background, the City asserts the constitutionality of enforcing Los Angeles Municipal Code section 41.18(d) against those involuntarily on the streets during nighttime hours, such as Appellants. COUNSEL 200 N Spring St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 Rather, we deal with a statute which makes the status of narcotic addiction a criminal offense, for which the offender may be prosecuted at any time before he reforms. California has said that a person can be continuously guilty of this offense, whether or not he has ever used or possessed any narcotics within the State, and whether or not he has been guilty of any antisocial behavior there. On April 1, 2015, the action styled . As a conviction for being found in the United States necessarily requires that a defendant commit the act of re-entering the country without permission within five years of being deported, there was no Eighth Amendment problem. at 667, 97 S.Ct. 1993), the trial court found that the day-in-the-life video sought to be introduced by Jones was "relevant and material to Jones's medical treatment and to an understanding of her daily life." 1417. Six years after its decision in Robinson, the Supreme Court considered the case of Leroy Powell, who had been charged with violating a Texas statute making it a crime to get drunk or be found in a state of intoxication in any public place. Powell, 392 U.S. at 517, 88 S.Ct. at 662-63, 82 S.Ct. Id. at 64. See L.A. Nevertheless, in a case such as this the standing inquiry essentially collapses into the merits, so instead of treating the issue separately as I normally would, I will simply explain why, in my view, there is no basis upon which Jones is entitled to relief.1. at 534-35, 88 S.Ct. Based on the record adduced in that case, it found that being homeless is rarely a choice; it also found that the homeless plaintiffs lacked any place where they could lawfully be and had no realistic choice but to live in public places because of the unavailability of low-income housing or alternative shelter. She was close to an electrolier consisting of a cast iron base about 3 feet high and a lamppost with crossarms supporting five large light globes. 2145 (White, J., concurring in the judgment); id. The City of Los Angeles has surpassed the Mayor's Sustainability goal of 1,000 public chargers installed in the city, including more than 100 on City property. 3. Its rationale is that the California statute penalizing addiction failed to criminalize conduct, and this failure is what made it unconstitutional. Id. This position is consistent with that of the Powell dissenters, who quoted and agreed with Justice White's standard, see id. Cara Mia DiMassa & Stuart Pfeifer, 2 Strategies on Policing Homeless, L.A. Times, Oct. 6, 2005, at A1 [hereinafter DiMassa, Policing Homeless] (omission in original) (quoting Chief Bratton). Nor, until now, has the Supreme Court or any other circuit court of appeals intimated (let alone held) that status plus a condition which exists on account of discretionary action by someone else is the kind of involuntary condition that cannot be criminalized. For those chronic alcoholics who lack homes. I also disagree with the majority's conclusion that all that is required for standing is some direct injury-for example, a deprivation of property, such as a fine, or liberty, such as an arrest-based on the plaintiff's violation of the statute, maj. op. Look over the claim form to see if you are eligible. Where the plaintiff seeks to enjoin criminal law enforcement activities against him, standing depends on the plaintiff's ability to avoid engaging in the illegal conduct in the future. For example, Las Vegas prohibits standing or lying in a public way only when it obstructs pedestrian or vehicular traffic. 2145 (White, J., concurring in the judgment). We do not-and should not-immunize from criminal liability those who commit an act as a result of a condition that the government's failure to provide a benefit has left them in. The Robinson and Powell decisions, read together, compel us to conclude that enforcement of section 41.18(d) at all times and in all places against homeless individuals who are sitting, lying, or sleeping in Los Angeles's Skid Row because they cannot obtain shelter violates the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause. Edward Jones and five other plaintiffs were arrested after officers found them living and sleeping in the city's skid row area, in violation of the ordinance. In the County as a whole, there are almost 50,000 more homeless people than available beds. It is not open to us to back off the rule, or to accept, as the majority here does instead, the view of the dissent in Ingraham that the Court's rationale was based upon the distinction between criminal and noncriminal punishment. Maj. op. See also Johnson, 61 F.3d at 445 (finding that plaintiffs who had not been convicted of violating a sleeping in public ordinance lacked standing to challenge it on Eighth Amendment grounds). In 1999, the fair market rent for an SRO room in Los Angeles was $379 per month. Jones and the others sued the City of Los Angeles and its police department, claiming that the ordinance violated their Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.. As homeless individuals, Appellants are in a chronic state that may have been acquired innocently or involuntarily. Robinson, 370 U.S. at 667, 82 S.Ct. Opinion . The area is now largely comprised of SRO hotels (multi-unit housing for very low income persons typically consisting of a single room with shared bathroom), shelters, and other facilities for the homeless. At a minimum, Robinson establishes that the state may not criminalize being; that is, the state may not punish a person for who he is, independent of anything he has done. So, too, would an injunction requiring state courts to permit and to apply the Eichorn defense. Auth., supra, at 2-14 (in the County as a whole, there are almost 50,000 more homeless people than available beds). 4. Powell, 392 U.S. at 554 n. 5, 88 S.Ct. The claims period is now closed for all class members with the exception of those class members who have received a notification letter advising that their account has a pending field work investigation. 2013) (en banc). As a result of the expansive reach of section 41.18(d), the extreme lack of available shelter in Los Angeles, and the large homeless population, thousands of people violate the Los Angeles ordinance every day and night, and many are arrested, losing what few possessions they may have.2 Appellants are among them. art I, 7 (guaranteeing due process and equal protection); id. 2145 (Marshall, J., plurality)). Put them in jail. L.A., Cal., Mun.Code 41.18(d) (2005). To satisfy the case or controversy requirement, the party invoking a court's jurisdiction must show that he personally has suffered some actual or threatened injury as a result of the putatively illegal conduct of the defendant, and that the injury fairly can be traced to the challenged action and is likely to be redressed by a favorable decision. Valley Forge Christian Coll. 2145. 2145 (Fortas, J., dissenting) (noting that like the addict in Robinson, an alcoholic is powerless to avoid drinking to the point of intoxication and once intoxicated, to prevent himself from appearing in public places). Cara Mia DiMassa & Richard Fausset, Mayor Orders Probe of Skid Row Dumping, L.A. Times, Sept. 27, 2005, at B1. In this Court counsel for the State recognized that narcotic addiction is an illness. He was arrested pursuant to the warrant and also charged with violating the ordinance. See, e.g., Philadelphia, Pa., Mun.Code 10-611(1)(b)-(c), (2)(g)-(h) (2005) (prohibiting sitting or lying in certain designated zones only); Reno, Nev., Mun.Code 8.12.015(b) (2005) (similar); Seattle, Wash., Mun.Code 15.48.040 (similar). Homeless Servs. LA This Minute, Presented by Channel 35. 1564, 26 L.Ed.2d 26 (1970) (the criminal process may begin pre-arrest, as soon as the state decides to prosecute an individual and amasses evidence against him). BC571664, with Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP as attorneys for plaintiffs (The Bower Law Group now represents plaintiffs in this action), filed on February 5, 2015. Jones claims that some 42,000 people are homeless each night in the City of Los Angeles, with approximately 11,000 living in the Skid Row area. 2145. 5. In this sense, the court believed that their conduct was involuntary and that being arrested effectively punishes the homeless for being homeless. The Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause's third protection, however, differs from the first two in that it limits what the state can criminalize, not how it can punish. 344, 350 (N.D.Tex.1994), rev'd on standing grounds, 61 F.3d 442. Four. Following Robinson's holding that the state cannot criminalize pure status, and the agreement of five Justices in Powell that the state cannot criminalize certain involuntary conduct, there are two considerations relevant to defining the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause's limits on the state's power to criminalize. 927, 931 (1969) ( [T]he dissent comes closer to speaking for a majority of the Court than does the plurality opinion.). Accordingly, he seeks to bring the ordinance in line with less draconian ordinances in other cities by barring its enforcement in Skid Row during nighttime hours. Moreover, they ignore the imminent threat of conviction and the evidence of actual convictions presented here. J. Urb. at 426 (citing Powell, 392 U.S. at 533, 88 S.Ct. The Court explained that the Clause places three distinct limits on the state's criminal law powers: First, it limits the kinds of punishment that can be imposed on those convicted of crimes; second, it proscribes punishment grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime; and third, it imposes substantive limits on what can be made criminal and punished as such. Jones v. City of Los Angeles Annotate this Case [Civ. Indeed, it is apparently an illness which may be contracted innocently or involuntarily. 2145). We do not desire to encroach on the legislative and executive functions reserved to the City Council and the Mayor of Los Angeles. Concrete Mixtures. Neither the Supreme Court nor any other circuit court of appeals has ever held that conduct derivative of a status may not be criminalized. at 551, 88 S.Ct. They seek a permanent injunction against the City of Los Angeles and L.A.P.D. Although the majority acknowledges that homelessness is neither a disease nor an innate or immutable characteristic, maj. op. Roulette v. City of Seattle, 97 F.3d 300, 302 (9th Cir.1996) (rejecting a facial challenge to a municipal ordinance that prohibited sitting or lying on public sidewalks); Tobe v. City of Santa Ana, 9 Cal.4th 1069, 1080, 40 Cal.Rptr.2d 402, 892 P.2d 1145 (1995) (finding a municipal ordinance that banned camping in designated public areas to be facially valid); nor a statute that criminalizes public drunkenness or camping, cf. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the nation's largest municipally-owned utility, providing safe, reliable and affordable electric and water service to nearly 4 million people. There is no record of conviction, or any evidence that Purrie was turned away from a shelter the night he was cited. Id. In fact, in both cases the court struck down the statute at issue for criminalizing status, not conduct, explicitly recognizing that there would have been no trouble had the statutes instead criminalized conduct. This is an action to enjoin the enforcement of a zoning ordinance of the City of Los Angeles. 608, 87 L.Ed. In a 4-1-4 decision, the Court affirmed Powell's conviction. 2145, 20 L.Ed.2d 1254 (1968) (Marshall, J., plurality); United States v. Ayala, 35 F.3d 423, 426 (9th Cir.1994). 2145 (Fortas, J., dissenting). It is undisputed that, for homeless individuals in Skid Row who have no access to private spaces, these acts can only be done in public. See Kidder, 869 F.2d at 1333. See id. See DiMassa, Policing Homeless, supra. The City and the dissent advance out of context the following dicta from Ingraham to support their contention that a conviction is necessary before one has standing to invoke our jurisdiction: [the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause] was designed to protect those convicted of crimes, id. at 550 n. 2, 88 S.Ct. We disagree with the analysis of Robinson and Powell conducted by both the district court in Joyce and the district court in the case at bar. We recognized that this issue was raised in Powell but no majority opinion emerged; however, we declined to decide it because Kidder's guilty plea waived any argument that his actions were involuntary.2 Id. at 549, 88 S.Ct. at 535-36, 88 S.Ct. LOS ANGELES -- The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a historic decision today in a case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the National Lawyers Guild seeking an end to the criminalization of people who sleep on the streets when no shelter is available. The dissenters themselves undermine their proposed distinction by suggesting that criminalizing involuntary acts that typically flow from the disease of chronic alcoholism would violate the Eighth Amendment, as well as by stating that [i]f an alcoholic should be convicted for criminal conduct which is not a characteristic and involuntary part of the pattern of the disease as it afflicts him, nothing herein would prevent his punishment. Id. at 666-67, 82 S.Ct. Jones v. City of Los Angeles: A Dangerous Expansion of Eighty Amendment Protections Stifles Efforts to Clean up Skid Row. on december 21, 2020, antwon jones ("plaintiff"), represented by adam kargman, janine f. cohen, and jeffrey b. isaacs of isaacs friedberg llp, filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of los angeles, michael n. feuer, james p. clark, and thomas h. peters (collectively "defendants"), seeking damages and injunctive relief for an alleged Los Contrary to the plurality, the dissent read Robinson as standing on the principle that [c]riminal penalties may not be inflicted upon a person for being in a condition he is powerless to change. Id. 1660, 75 L.Ed.2d 675 (1983) (holding that the threat must be real and immediate as opposed to conjectural or hypothetical). See Thomas v. Anchorage Equal Rights Comm'n, 220 F.3d 1134, 1139-41 (9th Cir.2000) (en banc). We nevertheless consider this challenge because the question of standing is jurisdictional and may be raised at any time by the parties, Laub v. U.S. Dep't of Interior, 342 F.3d 1080, 1085 (9th Cir.2003), or sua sponte, see RK Ventures, Inc. v. City of Seattle, 307 F.3d 1045, 1056 (9th Cir.2002) (raising issue of standing, but remanding for further development of the record). at 685, 82 S.Ct. Jones has been cited, but not arrested or convicted, for sleeping on the streets in violation of LAMC 41.18(d). Cf. Johnson, 61 F.3d at 444. 344, 350-51 (N.D.Tex.1994), rev'd on standing grounds, 61 F.3d 442 (5th Cir.1995). Drummond v. City of Anaheim, 343 F.3d 1052, 1058 n. 5 (9th Cir.2003).In addition, the City and the dissent claim Appellants lack standing because they have failed to demonstrate that shelter was unavailable on the nights they were arrested or cited for violating section 41.18(d), and therefore cannot establish that they were punished for involuntary conduct. The City of Los Angeles, et al., Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. The City challenges Appellants' standing for the first time on appeal. Compare Powell, 392 U.S. at 553, 88 S.Ct. The Clause's first two protections govern the particulars of criminal punishment, what kind and how much, covering only those who have been convicted of a criminal violation and face punitive sanctions. Joyce, however, was based on a very different factual underpinning than is present here. 2. 1401. L.A. Housing Crisis Task Force, In Short Supply 6 (2000). Id. Eric Leonard reports for the NBC4 News on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. Called the Matrix Program, the homelessness program was an interdepartmental effort [utilizing] social workers and health workers [and] offering shelter, medical care, information about services and general assistance. Id. A more restrictive approach to standing, one that made conviction a prerequisite for any type of Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause challenge, would allow the state to criminalize a protected behavior or condition and cite, arrest, jail, and even prosecute individuals for violations, so long as no conviction resulted. This evidence supports the reasonable inference that shelter is unavailable for thousands of homeless individuals in Los Angeles on any given night, including on the nights in question. For decades Skid Row has been home for the down and out, the drifters, the unemployed, and the chronic alcoholic[s] of Los Angeles. JESSE JONES, JR., a Minor, etc., Plaintiff and Appellant, v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES, Defendant and Respondent. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS A class action lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, captioned Jones v. City of Los Angeles, Case No. In Jones v. City of Los Angeles (1930) 211 Cal. Even assuming that at least one of the six homeless persons in this action has been convicted and will be prosecuted again, there is no basis for supposing that he will be convicted again. As Justice White stated in Powell, [p]unishing an addict for using drugs convicts for addiction under a different name. 392 U.S. at 548, 88 S.Ct. 89, 359 P.2d 457], abolished the doctrine of governmental immunity in this state for torts for which its agents are liable.As a result of such decision, and because of its far . 897 (D.Colo.1969); Wheeler v. Goodman, 306 F.Supp. If there is no offense for which the homeless can be convicted, is the City admitting that all that comes before is merely police harassment of a vulnerable population? Box 404007 Louisville, KY 40233-4007 1-877-306-5238 admin@LACityTransferSettlement.com Fax: 866-715-4512 Class Counsel Christopher P. Ridout ZIMMERMAN REED LLP Robert P. Ahdoot AHDOOT & WOLFSON PC Eric J. Benink KRAUSE KALFAYAN BENINK & SLAVENS LLP They both lack standing, and lose on the merits, for this reason as well. Joel v. City of Orlando, 232 F.3d 1353, 1357 (11th Cir.2000) (affirming summary judgment for the City where [t]he shelter has never reached its maximum capacity and no individual has been turned away for lack of space or for inability to pay the one dollar fee). at 438 (citing Ingraham, 430 U.S. at 667, 97 S.Ct. Covering fifty city blocks immediately east of downtown Los Angeles, Skid Row is bordered by Third Street to the north, Seventh Street to the south, Alameda Street to the east, and Main Street to the west. 1219, 28 L.Ed.2d 524 (1971), is to the contrary. Id. 180]. See Kidder, 869 F.2d at 1332-33. The Joyce plaintiffs made only the conclusory allegation that there was insufficient shelter, id. The result, in City officials' own words, is that [t]he gap between the homeless population needing a shelter bed and the inventory of shelter beds is severely large. Homelessness Report, supra, at 80. Annabelle Jones, plaintiff and appellant, was standing on the sidewalk at the southwest corner of Spring and Eighth Streets, in Los Angeles. 1401). However, in my view, Pottinger's extension of the Eighth Amendment to conduct that is derivative of status takes the substantive limits on criminality further than Robinson or its progeny support. Stay up-to-date with how the law affects your life. 674, 27 L.Ed.2d 701 (1971) (Brennan, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (noting prior aggressive prosecution under an allegedly unconstitutional law as a factor for finding sufficient controversy for declaratory relief). settlement reached in the Customer Class Action entitled Jones v. City of Los Angeles (Jones Class Action) and the Settlement Agreement; and WHEREAS, LADWP has determined . L.Rev. He has lived in the Skid Row area for four decades. Sovereign immunity from civil liability for torts committed by a public entity is involved in this appeal. See Joyce, 846 F.Supp. A violation of section 41.18(d) is punishable by a fine of up to $1000 and/or imprisonment of up to six months. Ritter argued that requiring documents to check his status offended the Eighth Amendment's substantive limits on what can be made criminal. officers arrested him. Gen. Id. For this he relies on Pottinger v. City of Miami, 810 F.Supp. He was standing on it at the fourth or fifth rung from the top, 25 to 30 feet from the ground when he leaned out, extending the 12-foot pruning hook full length, to cut a branch about midway between the fifth and sixth trees. In Powell v. Texas, 392 U.S. 514, 88 S.Ct. At 5:00 a.m. on December 24, 2002, Barger was sleeping on the sidewalk at Sixth and Towne when L.A.P.D. at 1129, because this is an action arising under the Eighth Amendment, where injury comes from cruel and unusual punishment-not under the Due Process Clause, where injury comes from deprivation of a liberty or property interest without due process. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989) (noting that Judge Friendly's view that Eighth Amendment protections do not attach until after conviction and sentence was confirmed by Ingraham). In the absence of any indication that the enormous gap between the number of available beds and the number of homeless individuals in Los Angeles generally and Skid Row in particular has closed, Appellants are certain to continue sitting, lying, and sleeping in public thoroughfares and, as a result, will suffer direct and irreparable injury from enforcement of section 41.18(d). This argument is legally, factually, and realistically untenable.3. The City also argues Appellants lack standing because, after being arrested, jailed, and losing their belongings, Appellants could theoretically raise a necessity defense if they were prosecuted. It points to Johnson v. City of Dallas, 61 F.3d 442 (5th Cir.1995), where the court held that homeless persons who sought to enjoin enforcement of a Dallas ordinance prohibiting sleeping in public had no standing as none had been convicted, and to Davison v. City of Tucson, 924 F.Supp. Brief of the County of Los Angeles, et al. This, too, calls into question the plaintiffs' standing. 10. See The U.S. Conference of Mayors, A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities 101, 105 (2002) [hereinafter Homelessness Report];1 L.A. Housing Crisis Task Force, supra, at 7. See Robinson, 370 U.S. at 665-67, 82 S.Ct. at 559 n. 2, 88 S.Ct. Different factual underpinning than is present here City Council and the Mayor Los... 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