For more than 11,000 Skid Row inhabitants, the area bounded by
3rd, 7th, Main and Alameda streets ““ where transients may be
arrested for sitting, sleeping, or lying on public sidewalks
““ is the closest thing they have to home.
The same goes for many homeless individuals who use the Westwood
streets and sidewalks as their homes.
But because of a federal court ruling last Friday, those and the
approximately 70,000 other homeless people in Los Angeles will no
longer be penalized for living on the city’s streets and
sidewalks.
Last Friday, by a 2-1 majority, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in San Francisco found the Los Angeles city ordinance
enforcing the arrest of homeless people unconstitutional. The
ruling stated that there are not enough available shelter beds to
accommodate all the homeless, leaving them without a choice but to
take to the streets.
The court said arrests of transients occupying public sidewalks
violates the Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual
punishment.
Contessa Mankiewicz, spokeswoman for the city attorney’s
office, said the city is disappointed and is in the process of
reviewing the case, though it was unclear whether the city would
decide to appeal the appellate ruling.
But even though the ruling deals with public city spaces, it
will not have an impact on UCLA.
Because the panel overturned a city ordinance and not a state
law, the UCLA campus, which is state property, will not be
affected, said Nancy Greenstein, director of police community
services.
“The campus is open to the public, and homeless people
must respect the campus just like anybody else,” she
said.
She added that university police will continue to treat the
homeless as they treat anyone else on campus.
“Being homeless is not illegal,” she said.
Greenstein said Westwood, which falls under the primary
jurisdiction of the Los Angeles Police Department, may see changes
as a result of the ruling, but “it’s more about (other
places in) L.A. where it’s perceived as a more serious
problem.”
UCLA School of Law Professor Gary Blasi said the ruling may
actually result in a decrease in the number of homeless individuals
in Westwood, as some may return to downtown areas like Skid Row.
The downtown area, in which transients may have better access to
free services, has the highest concentration of homeless people in
the country.
The ruling stated that the city cannot completely prohibit
people from sitting and lying on public sidewalks, but it can
regulate when and where they do so.
“It’s going to reduce the amount of arrests,”
said Blasi, who has conducted research regarding reactions to
homelessness.
Blasi said arrests by local law enforcement lead to the loss of
possessions by the homeless, which Friday’s ruling said
contributes their state of homelessness.
“It’s certainly not a victory in that it’s not
going to make people not homeless, but it’ll make being
homeless a little easier,” Blasi said.
Blasi said the ruling may cause urban developers to re-evaluate
the condition of the homeless in Los Angeles.
“It will hopefully encourage the people hoping to make
billions of dollars in real estate investments downtown to find
real solutions to the problem rather than just moving (homeless
people) to other areas,” he said.
Earlier this month, a blue-ribbon panel suggested building
50,000 new housing units to end homelessness throughout Los Angeles
County within a decade.
Also, a $100 million plan was approved earlier this month by the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the creation of five
county centers aimed at providing temporary shelter and
services.
With reports from Bruin wire services.