A mandate that would have required the city of Los Angeles to offer shelter or housing to those experiencing homelessness in Skid Row has been overturned by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
A three-judge panel ruled that U.S. District Judge David Carter, who issued the homelessness order in the spring, failed to follow basic legal requirements. Carter, an Orange County-based judge, took a particular interest in the growing homeless population in Los Angeles, often showing up an encampments and staging street-based media appearances to apply public pressure.
According to the L.A. Times, the panel said those who sued the city and county of L.A. over the homeless presence had no legal right to bring the case. Reportedly, Judge Carter deployed “novel” legal theories that no one had argued, ruled on claims that no one had alleged and with no evidence, the 9th Circuit said.
The Appeal Court’s ruling applied to only the issue of clearing tents from Skid Row, but it called into question the broader underpinnings of the whole lawsuit.
According to the Midnight Mission, located in the Skid Row area of Downtown Los Angeles, some 60,000 people are experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County. Up to 75 percent of those individuals lack permanent shelter and rely on tents, makeshift shelters or their vehicles for accommodation.
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