DA’s lawsuit against Sacramento over homeless camps could be tossed. Here’s why
A judge could toss out Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho’s lawsuit against the city regarding homeless camps Friday.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Jill Talley is scheduled to hold a hearing at 9 a.m. Friday. During the hearing, she could dismiss Ho’s complaint that the city is not doing enough to clear homeless camps from public property. Or she could rule that the case can proceed, potentially to an eventual jury trial with hundreds of witnesses.
The judge’s staff said Thursday morning that a tentative ruling would be issued later that afternoon.
In September Ho filed the civil lawsuit against the city alleging the city is allowing public and private nuisances to take place, as thousands live in camps lining the capital city’s sidewalks, freeway underpasses, and bike trails. In December, Ho filed an amended complaint removing the private nuisance claim and adding an allegation that the city is violating the state’s Fish and Game Code by allowing the homeless to pollute creeks that flow to the Sacramento and American Rivers.
“Sacramento is known as the river city, and that’s because the rivers run through the heart of our community, and they are the true natural jewels of our community,” Ho said during a December news conference standing in front of tents along a creek on city property. “But over the last seven years, the city of Sacramento has allowed that natural jewel to be soiled and polluted.”
Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s term started roughly seven years ago.
The county, which is in charge of large sections of the American River Parkway, where thousands of unhoused people camp on the river banks, is not named as a defendant in the complaint.
City officials have disputed the claims, saying under its interpretation of the 2018 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Martin v. Boise ruling, the city can’t legally move people off public property unless there’s a shelter bed to offer them. The city’s roughly 1,300 shelter beds — all of which were opened during Steinberg’s tenure — are all typically full, with a wait list topping 2,400. The city has cleared people off certain public properties when they’re fully blocking sidewalks or fire station entrances, or are near schools — places where its ordinances prohibit camping. Recently the city has started issuing criminal citations, similar to traffic tickets, for storing personal belongings on public property.
On Friday, the city filed a court document, called a demurrer, disputing the allegations in Ho’s amended lawsuit. Talley is set to make a ruling on whether to grant the demurrer Friday.
Mark Merin, a civil rights attorney, said he believes Talley will side with the city and toss out the suit Friday, in part because the city has its own discretion over how it handles so-called public nuisances.
“The city has discretion as to how it executes and enforces its own laws, and that’s critical to the separation of powers between the city and the DA’s Office,” said Merin, who frequently sues the city on behalf of the homeless. “The city can’t be forced to do what the DA thinks is a different or better way to deal with the homeless ... The DA doesn’t get to run the city. That’s why we have a City Council.”
City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood has accused Ho of suing the city because he plans to run for attorney general, possibly against Steinberg — an allegation Ho has denied.
