federal judge

Appeals Court Overturns Judge’s Order to House L.A. Skid Row Homeless

A federal appeals court today overturned a Los Angeles judge’s sweeping order forcing local government to offer shelter to every unhoused person on downtown’s Skid Row by the middle of next month, and sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings. A panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the district court had “abused its discretion” because it did not have authority to issue the preliminary injunction order based on claims not pled in the complaint brought last year by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, an association of downtown residents, homeless individuals and property owners seeking to compel the county and city of Los Angeles to find shelter for the thousands of people camping on city sidewalks.

Judge Calls Meeting On Skid Row To Discuss Worsening Conditions

   Combined with the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring mental health and substance abuse issues, homelessness in the region is comparable to “a significant natural disaster in Southern California with no end in sight,” U.S. District Judge David Carter wrote in an order filed late Sunday in federal court.

Federal Court Blocks Trump Asylum Ban from Being Applied to Thousands of Asylum Seekers

“Today’s order will protect the lives of asylum seekers who were forced to endure extreme hardship while waiting in dangerous border cities for months for their chance to seek asylum in the United States,” said Erika Pinheiro, AOL director of litigation and policy. “These asylum seekers have a deep commitment to following our laws in seeking protection, and we are relieved to see that their decision to follow our government’s instructions to wait in Mexico will not prejudice their chances for relief.”