On any other planet, this might be OK

When the mother of all homeless criminalization ordinances passed (6-1) in 2015, I shook my fist on the way out of council chambers, yelling, “See you in court!!!” For months I sought attorneys willing to litigate, given Chico’s unconstitutional trajectory.

After good conversations with Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC) and the ACLU in San Francisco, there was this take-away: litigation is expensive and devoting substantial resources to fighting any city government would not come easy. (Out of abundant frustration, we began a weekly protest/gathering in Chico City Plaza—now in its seventh year.)

Between 2015 and the winter of 2021, the city engaged in dozens of hostile actions against our homeless population, but it was the many camp sweeps in the dead of winter in 2021 that precipitated litigation. I was elated when LSNC initiated legal action. I was delighted to participate by providing a declaration and supporting the ACLU in preparing an amicus brief.

Yesterday (1/18), I attended a press conference. Mayor Coolidge said some remarkable things, perhaps most egregiously that LSNC litigated against Chico for the purpose of enriching a few attorneys — and that those attorneys would now bilk other cities.

On some other planet, I can imagine accusations of avarice leveled against our lowest paid, most heroic lawyers. Or, providing air conditioning to homeless people provoking seething resentment. Or, failure to coerce a federal judge into granting a unilateral exception to a confidentiality agreement being cause for righteous indignation. But only on another planet.

— Patrick Newman, Chico