The Board of Supervisors has decided to throw its political weight behind an effort to overturn a court decision that has allowed homeless people to bed down overnight on sidewalks across California and the West.
In July, attorneys Theodore B. Olson and Theane Evangelis, both with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, a powerhouse law firm with offices in L.A., announced that they planned to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to. In doing so, they cited the “urgent crisis and the public health challenge” of burgeoning homeless encampments in nine Western states.
Tuesday’s meeting drew dozens of public speakers — most of them coming out against the county’s proposal. It was a discussion that grew heated at times. Hahn had to warn the audience, pleading for decorum. “This is not a free-for-all out there,” she said.Those who argued against the county’s motion said the Boise ruling, as the case is commonly known, was necessary to prevent cities and counties from criminalizing homelessness.
Sahar Durali, an associate director of litigation and policy at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles, said she worried that overturning the federal court ruling would make it easier for local governments to arrest or ticket homeless residents, despite assurances from Barger and other county officials that their intention was to help.will drain the county’s resources or prevent its progress is just not true,” Durali said.