COLLEGE OF LAW
STUART H. SMITH LAW CLINIC
VIA EMAIL ONLY TO NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL:
Helena Morena, morenocouncil@nola.gov
Jason Williams, jasonwilliams@nola.gov
Joseph Giarusso, Joseph.Giarrusso@nola.gov
Jay Banks, Jay.Banks@nola.gov
Kristen Palmer, Kristin.Palmer@nola.gov
Jarred Brossett, councildistrictd@nola.gov
Cyndi Nguyen, Cyndi.Nguyen@nola.gov
April 18, 2019
RE:

Ordinance Number 32, 262 to Amend Art. XII, Ch. 82 Code of the City of
New Orleans

Dear Councilmembers:
The proposed amendment to the code referenced above will present a significant and
unnecessary hardship on homeless residents of the City of New Orleans. While we recognize the
City’s interest in public safety, that rationale cannot be used as an excuse to deprive homeless
people of belongings including personal identification, life-saving medications, and eyeglasses
amongst other personal items. The ordinance’s requirement that identification be provided in
order to retrieve medication is not logical because that identification very likely could have been
seized along with the individuals’ other possessions.
Homelessness is the result of a combination of factors including the reality that the City
of New Orleans does not provide sufficient safe and affordable housing, which results in our
community members, including the elderly and children, sleeping on the street. Under the
proposed ordinance, inevitably, new encampments will arise as the City demolishes those in
place without a plan to provide affordable housing or shelter. This will perpetuation a cycle of
instability and suffering. We urge you to reconsider the proposed ordinance. The proposed
forced eviction contemplated by this ordinance is not a sound or sustainable policy solution.
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness stated in guidance on encampments that,
“the forced dispersal of people from encampment settings is not an appropriate solution or
strategy, accomplishes nothing toward the goal of linking people to permanent housing
opportunities, and can make it more difficult to provide such lasting solutions to people who
have been sleeping and living in the encampment.” U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness,
Ending Homelessness for People Living in Encampments: Advancing the Dialogue (Aug. 2015)
available
at
https://www.usich.gov/resources/uploads/asset_library/Ending_
Homelessness_for_People_Living_in_ Encampments_Aug2015.pdf.

 Courts have recognized that homeless people cannot be deprived of their property
interests without due process. 5 Mitchell v. City of Los Angeles, Case No.: 16-cv-01750 SJO
(JPR) (C.D. Cal. April 2016); Allen v. City of Pomona, No. 16-cv-1859 (C.D. Cal. filed Mar. 18,
2016); Kincaid v City of Fresno, 2006 WL 3542732 (E.D. Cal. Dec. 8, 2006) (finding that
homeless people have rights under the 4th and 14th Amendments to the US Constitution, which
prohibit the City from destroying the property of homeless people in sweeps or evictions of
homeless people).
The proposed 24-hour notice period is particularly problematic and does not meet the
standards of pre-deprivation notice under the U.S. Constitution. In the past, this Council has
even recognized that a 72-hour waiting period is more appropriate (Aug. 20, 2014, City Council
hearing). At a minimum, the City should provide at least 72 hours prior to the enforcement of
the proposed ordinance written notice to any homeless person whose property (medication, tent,
household furnishings, or any other item in a public place) is subject to removal pursuant to the
proposed ordinance.
The Routine Remediation areas and Temporary Emphasis Area are designations that are
nothing more than pretext to prevent homeless people from occupying any area of the City. As
such, these designations are both vague and overbroad in violation of U.S. Constitutional
standards.
The Emergency Powers section of the ordinance provides no standards to determine
where such will be enforced. As such, this designation is both vague and overbroad in violation
of U.S. Constitutional standards.
Finally, we are also concerned about other consequences for homeless people should this
ordinance be enacted and request assurance that there will not be:
•
•
•

Criminal enforcement of homeless people including arrests and fines including without
proper summons and procedures;
Property removal without service providers present to provide support and assistance;
Seizure and destruction of property without a formal court summons, opportunity for the
owner of the property to be heard, and an effective mechanism that preserves U.S.
Constitutional due process rights.
Please contact us to discuss this further at 861-5596. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,

Davida Finger
Clinic Professor
Bill Quigley
Clinic Director
7214 St. Charles Avenue, Campus Box 902, New Orleans, LA 70118, 504.861.5590, FAX: 504.861.5440
Physical Address: 540 Broadway Street, New Orleans, LA 70118
www.loyno.edu/lawclinic