LOS ANGELES (CN) — An attorney for Los Angeles County told a federal judge Monday the court can’t take over the duties of local government when it comes to dealing with the local homelessness crisis simply because taxpayers don’t agree with elected officials’ policy decisions.
Skip Miller, the county’s outside counsel from the firm Miller Barondess, said in a virtual court hearing before U.S. District Judge David O. Carter that federal courts can’t dictate the county’s spending decisions.
“That's why we have county governance and a Board of Supervisors,” Miller told Carter. “It’s an imperfect system but that’s the nature of government. It's a big challenge but we're on it. We’re not gonna slack any of our efforts at all.”
Miller told Carter the lawsuit by LA Alliance for Human Rights is “legally defective” because it doesn’t establish controversy under the U.S. Constitution nor does it establish plaintiffs’ standing to bring the complaint.
LA Alliance, which sued Los Angeles city and county in March 2020, seeks local government-provided care for homeless people and swift construction of shelter and housing options for the unhoused.
Last month, Carter ordered city and county officials to house unaccompanied women and children living in the Skid Row community within 90 days and families within 120 days.
The Central District of California judge also ordered county officials to audit funds allocated for fighting homelessness and undertake sweeping actions to house all homeless people living in the 50-square block, open-air encampment by October.
In the county’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit by LA Alliance — an organization of business owners, developers and residents who seek a court-mandated plan to reduce encampments — attorneys wrote that Skid Row is located in the city and authority to clear sidewalks there lies with city, not county, officials.
But Elizabeth Mitchell of Spertus, Landes & Umhofer, attorney for LA Alliance, told Carter in the hearing the county is trying to pass the buck.
“The county has an obligation to protect public health and is failing in that,” Mitchell told Carter.
Carter didn’t address the arguments in the hearing but has written in recent rulings that he isn’t trying to direct officials’ management of government money. Instead, Carter seeks a full accounting of how much is available and how it’ll be spent.
Homeless people living in the Skid Row community account for about 28% of the more than 60,000 who are homeless in LA County, according to county data. In 2020, LA County reported a nearly 13% increase in the local homeless population, while the city of LA saw a 14% increase. In total, more than 66,000 unsheltered people were counted.
In their motion to dismiss, attorneys for LA County argued Carter’s ruling would unnecessarily push more people into crowded shelters or direct public funds to develop more temporary shelters instead of permanent housing. The county has also argued LA Alliance has no standing to file claims because they can’t allege injuries to third parties to support their standing claim.
Carter has rejected the argument, noting members of LA Alliance filed court papers stating they’re currently homeless in and around Skid Row.
Carter’s injunction labeled structural racism as a main cause for the surge in homelessness in recent decades and specifically said officials have failed to stem the disproportionate surge in deaths among Black houseless people.
But Miller told Carter on Monday the county isn’t responsible for racism throughout the nation and that none of its policies directly led to current structural racism.
“It can't be traced to anything the county did,” Miller told Carter. “It’s not something we can control. We didn't do anything on the streets of Skid Row to create racial injustice. All we've done is provide services.”
The judge took the motion under submission and didn't indicate when he will rule.
Carter previously denied the county’s bid to stay the injunction pending an appeal of the order at the Ninth Circuit.
He has scheduled two hearings in the case for the end of May.
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