Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/david-o-carter/)
South Orange County also is set to be brought into the federal case, as the judge expressed frustration at the lack of a south county shelter site.
A federal appeals court this week supports what U.S. District Judge David O. Carter has been warning county and city leaders about for six months: If they don’t offer a realistic option for homeless people to stay overnight, police can’t enforce anti-camping ordinances. On Friday, Carter is bringing OC civic leaders back to court to gauge progress.
Prior “point-in-time” counts – which play a key role in policy and funding decisions – are actually estimates, officials now say.
Federal judge David O. Carter has warned cities against pushing homeless people to other areas, saying it raises constitutional issues.
U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter warned the County of Orange and its cities they will need to make significant progress on plans for new emergency shelter housing for the homeless, or face a possible court ruling or temporary injunction stopping the enforcement of anti-camping laws.
American courts have held the public and journalists have the right to film government officials, including police, carrying out official actions in public.
The hearing is in response to the closure of armory shelters, which pushed over 200 homeless people into local communities where it’s illegal to camp in public.
Homeless people in north Orange County no longer will have nightly shelters at the National Guard armories after the Santa Ana armory closed its doors Sunday morning and Fullerton shut down last week.
All three county landfills should stay open, the panel said, to prevent costs from increasing and additional traffic congestion in communities near still-operating garbage dumps.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter two months ago called on south county cities to identify and develop additional shelter beds, and gave them until Wednesday to identify locations.