A Redding attorney has successfully fought and beaten a $455 fine for four homeless clients who were accused of camping illegally on city property.
Lauren Sanchez is the managing attorney with Legal Services of Northern California, which represented the four homeless clients. She says the misdemeanor cases are heard in Shasta County Traffic Court. And while she has not actually had a judge find the clients innocent, the cases have been dismissed on procedural grounds.
“We have filed legal briefs challenging whether the charge is proper, if there is any problem with the way the ticket was written, that has come up,” Sanchez said. “And those are things that we have raised with the Judge to see if the ticket is valid, if the charge can really be brought.”
For example, one of the ordinances that regulates camping applies only between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. If the ticket is written outside of those hours Sanchez argues that the person wasn’t really violating the law. Another case involved a client that Sanchez says had urgent medical issues. She says she argued that her client was parked tending to those issues, and not camping.
“The statute requires that the person intended to camp, so that was arguably dropped,” she said.
And while having that ticket dropped is good news for Sanchez’s four clients, others who won’t or can’t pay the citation can end up with warrants which lead to even steeper fines and potential jail time. But Mike Thomas, a code enforcement officer with the Redding Police Department, says in reality because of jail overcrowding not much actually happens.
“There is no facility for that in this county," he said. "Zero. There is zero threat for any type of incarceration or real punishment.”
He also says that the only action he can take legally when citing a person for camping is a fine. But the person may be entitled to one of many social programs designed to help veterans, or others who might be mentally ill.
“The first thing I do with almost everybody that I deal with is do an assessment card," he said. "Even before I give out a citation. 'Cause I don’t cite everybody.”
He says he uses whatever approach is best to get the person out of the situation they are in. And on big cleanup projects Thomas says social service groups are there to help with referrals right away.
But there are critics of what the RPD is doing. Chris Solberg is with the Redding Coalition for the homeless. He says a real solution to homelessness is needed. Otherwise we are just making criminals of those with no where to go.
“These people simply can’t pay these fines,” he said. “It’s criminalizing the homeless. That’s all it is doing. Criminalizing basically a life-sustaining function which is sleeping.”
He says alternatives like legal camps or day shelters are a possibility. But according to Solberg every positive alternative has been shot down by the City Council.
“Because it gives the perception 'If you build it they will come.' And they are simply not interested in doing anything positive or solution-oriented to the homeless issue, other than criminalization.”
And while everyone agrees something needs to be done the question is still: what? Solberg says until the political will is there, nothing will happen. And according to officer Thomas, unless that happens, he will keep issuing tickets which go unpaid, turn into warrants and even more fines. Short of going to court to have the ticket overturned, the cycle continues.