Posted on 11/22/2006 9:40:51 PM PST by SmithL
A federal judge ordered Fresno city officials Wednesday to stop seizing homeless people's property without warning as a civil rights lawsuit proceeds against the city.
The suit — filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights on behalf of six people — claims police and sanitation workers violated the rights of the city's homeless in the last three years by defining their property as trash and bulldozing their encampments.
Homeless advocates said the preliminary injunction by U.S. District Court Judge Oliver W. Wanger would help cement homeless people's property rights.
"This is very significant in protecting not just the rights of homeless people in Fresno, but nationally," said Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. "It's the court saying, 'Yes, there are legal rights, constitutional rights that are at issue here and this case needs to go forward.'"
James Betts, an attorney for the city, argued that forcing Fresno to log and store belongings seized in the "cleanups" would be a burden because the city doesn't have the space, money or the manpower to handle the volume of items.
Estimates of the number of people living on Fresno's streets range from about 500 to just under 8,900. Wanger's order blocks the city from raiding their tent towns and destroying their belongings until the case goes to trial, or reaches a settlement.
"Persons cannot be punished because of their status," Wanger said Wednesday, before issuing his ruling. "They cannot be denied their constitutional rights because of their appearance, because they are impoverished, because they are squatters, because they are, in effect, voiceless."
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
If they put their stuff on other people's property, the owners of that property have the right to do with it as they wish. The world is not these folks personal dumping space.
New term for property rights when one doesn't own land. This is going to get interesting.
In fact, I would place used furniture all around the city in case anyone can use it /Sarcasm
So if I go pick up a few cardboard boxes and camp out on someones lawn, I have officially obtained an easement. I guess with that mindset the cardboard box people would be well within their rights to defend themselves if the offending party tried to claim back their property.
Much of the so called property in these encampments is so nasty, contaminated with human waste and surrounded by discarded drug paraphernalia. An EPA tactical unit in Tyvex suits would be required to come in to handle this crap. Screw this plan and burn it all.
"In fact, I would place used furniture all around the city in case anyone can use it /Sarcasm"
In beach communities that is common.
When you are only going to live on the beach for a few months, or a few years, and you see what the salt spray does to anything you buy new, it doesn't take long to start sharing in the free, alley shopping network.
Among the less than rich beach dwellers, it is common to get the habit of setting anything you don't need, or want to take with you in a move, into the alley.
If you need something you can take it from the alley, after all, a lot of new stuff will be too ugly to take with you after sitting in front of a window that is 100 ft from the water, and that never gets closed.
Did you read the entire article? The judge ruled regarding their personal possessions, not the land they are on.
(( ping ))
Defending property is the concept. Do they have the right to defend their property?
It was a bit of an exaggerated statement intended to make a point.
What rights do any of us landowners really have since Kelo?
I think this judge has taken a step in the right direction, atleast when the government takes our homes and makes us homeless, they won't be able to throw all our stuff in the trash as easily.
The way I would take care of this is start transporting these homeless people to the good judge's house and tell them that he just ruled they can't be moved from the nice posh nieghborhood they find themselves in, so set up camp and have a ball, no one will bother you.
I wonder how long it would take the judge to call the cops?
LOL
It's unbelievable, no, I take that back, that the people of Washington State voted down a property rights initiative. Made me want to puke. People here don't have a clue. Maybe it's because so many of them are from California.
did you read the entire article carefully?
a few quotes from it...
"claims police and sanitation workers violated the rights of the city's homeless in the last three years by defining their property as trash and bulldozing their encampments"
"They cannot be denied their constitutional rights because ... they are squatters, ..."
It doesn't really sound like this is restrained to merely their personal possessions, it appears to also refer to the stolen land that those possessions are stored upon. Thes homeless are squatting, or stealing land, period.
That's why I suggest they set up camp, or, merely store their possessions on the good judges' property, I'm sure he would be glad to help them all out.
"Defending property is the concept. Do they have the right to defend their property?"
The article mentioned two kinds of locations where the squatters were found:
"Whether they squat in city parks or sleep in makeshift dwellings next to train tracks,"
I realize that if the squatters are on railroad property then they may be on private property, but it isn't quite the same as squatting on someone's lawn.
I'm not defending their right to be squatting, but I think the judge is correct in ruling that the city should not claim that their things are abandoned and therefore garbage.
There isn't one of us who has a guarantee that he will never find himself in these peoples' situation some day.
The mercy, or lack of it, that is shown to them now, may be what we ourselves will get.
"Do you feel they have the right to defend it?"
Please clarify, who are "they", and what is "it".
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