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Calif. Judge Blocks Raids on Homeless Camps

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law won a major victory against Fresno, California in federal court this week.

They are asserting that police and sanitation workers violated the rights of the homeless for the past three years by defining their property as trash and bulldozing their encampments.

The federal judge assigned to the case, Oliver W. Wanger, ruled:

U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger, calling Fresno's policy regarding homeless people's property "dishonest and demeaning," granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday ordering the city to stop seizing and destroying homeless people's property without warning while the civil rights lawsuit winds through the courts.

"Persons cannot be punished because of their status," the judge said. "They cannot be denied their constitutional rights because of their appearance, because they are impoverished, because they are squatters, because they are, in effect, voiceless."

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  • Display: Sort:
    Good for Judge Wanger! (none / 0) (#1)
    by Edger on Fri Nov 24, 2006 at 01:23:44 AM EST
    Nice to see someone is thinking staight on this.

    Nice to hear (none / 0) (#2)
    by kdog on Fri Nov 24, 2006 at 09:11:55 AM EST
    Some good news on the freedom front for a change....right on.

    Parent
    Yup (none / 0) (#3)
    by aw on Fri Nov 24, 2006 at 10:40:26 AM EST
    The richest country in the world.  By the way, what happened to all those compassionate conservatives?

    ::compassionate:: conservatives? (none / 0) (#4)
    by Edger on Fri Nov 24, 2006 at 10:47:21 AM EST
    They're consistent, at least. :-/

    War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.

    Compassion is _____?

    Parent

    Compassion is (none / 0) (#5)
    by aw on Fri Nov 24, 2006 at 11:06:47 AM EST
    Blindness?

    Pitiless?

    Selfish?

    Brutality?

    Pitiless?

    for suckers?

    Parent

    Compassion is Cowardice and an inability... (none / 0) (#6)
    by Bill Arnett on Fri Nov 24, 2006 at 12:31:35 PM EST
    ...to see past the silver spoon in the mouths of hypocrites.

    To quote a fairly well-recognized man:

    Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

    The haranguing of the poor by the rich righteous should someday result in the righteous never meeting the framer of the above quote: Jesus

    Very presidential... (none / 0) (#7)
    by Edger on Fri Nov 24, 2006 at 12:41:26 PM EST