Posted on 05/03/2006 7:16:41 AM PDT by nckerr
(AP) A federal judge prohibited the city of Redondo Beach, Calif., from arresting day laborers for violating a local ordinance against soliciting work in public, a ruling likely to draw attention across the U.S. as cities face increasing numbers of day laborers.
The ordinance violated the First Amendment right to free speech, U.S. District Judge Consuelo Marshall said in the strongly worded decision disclosed Tuesday by lawyers.
"This sends a strong message to municipalities that they can't eliminate the presence of day laborers in the street," said Pablo Alvarado, director of the National Day Labor Organizing Network, which filed the lawsuit against Redondo Beach.
City Attorney Mike Webb said he planned to appeal unless the City Council directed him otherwise.
"We have to address the residents' valid concerns," Webb said. "And we have to be able to stop people from running out in the street to solicit work."
In the 29-page ruling dated Friday, Marshall said citizen complaints about day laborers were "insufficient to justify preventing all laborers or other solicitors from engaging in speech."
The judge also said the city failed to show other areas where laborers could solicit work.
Marshall ordered city officials to tell police the ordinance could no longer be enforced. Police had suspended enforcement over the past year and a half while the case was pending.
Cities throughout the U.S. are dealing differently with increasing numbers of day laborers, many of whom are Hispanic and undocumented.
Some cities built day labor centers, while others have cracked down on workers when residents have complained of loitering. Anti-illegal immigration activists have filed suits against cities that use taxpayer funds to build the centers.
The ordinance in Redondo Beach had been on the books since the late 1980s. It was challenged in late 2004 after 60 day laborers were arrested in stings by undercover police officers posing as people seeking to hire workers.
City officials said they were responding to complaints of blocked traffic, drinking and urinating in public, and disrupting local businesses by loitering.
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed suit on behalf of the workers.
One of the men arrested was Braulio Gonzalez, 50, of Guatemala. He said day laborers clapped in celebration when they were told of the judge's decision.
"This is a victory for day laborers," said Gonzalez, who has been soliciting work in Redondo Beach for 24 years. "The police shouldn't bother us now."
©MMVI The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Couldn't all these activities be prosecuted as-is, without reference to whether the person was "soliciting work in public"?
Well... thank God the citizens of Guatemala are happy.
From Jimmeh Cartah....the gift that keeps reaming common sense
In the 29-page ruling dated Friday, Marshall said citizen complaints about day laborers were "insufficient to justify preventing all laborers or other solicitors from engaging in speech."
Now is this not special,I guess we taxpayers have not rights except to pay taxes now.
Stake 'em out. Follow them to their jobsite. Arrest the employer. Repeat as necessary.
Born 1936 in Knoxville, TN
Federal Judicial Service:
U. S. District Court, Central District of California Nominated by Jimmy Carter on June 20, 1980, to a seat vacated by Robert Firth; Confirmed by the Senate on September 29, 1980, and received commission on September 30, 1980. Served as chief judge, 2001-2005. Assumed senior status on October 24, 2005.
ping
Socialist California judges.
This is outrageous!
She's a piece of work....
Look at her rulings against the State vs. a kiddy porn JUDGE!!!!!
Blocking traffic, drinking and urinating in public, and disrupting local businesses by loitering are First Amendment right to free speech... unless you are a citizen.
She's too Bland for me..
Anyone have any questions why socialist liberal judges must NOT ever sit on any bench?
There goes mexifornia, and here people thought the "big one" was going to be an earthquake, well no its the great invasion and takeover of California by criminal socialist illegal aliens from mexico.
Justice is blind but evidently not deaf...say the judge's name and you will see what I mean.
Off to work...have a nice day.
And I sure hope none of the employers have anyone riding in the back of a pickup without a seat belt. That would be a violation of the California Vehicle Code and they could get a ticket.
Good idea :-).
He is right, we are slowly but surely losing this war thanks to judges and politicians.
I truly believe that this country needs a revolution by hard working, average American citizens to take our country back.
yes, and they could prosecute illegal immigrant day-workers for being illegal immigrants, but not for soliciting work.
Free speech? Man, she dug deep for that one. Twenty years on the bench and senility has reared its ugly head.
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