San Luis Obispo -- Attorneys representing dozens of homeless people who received citations for sleeping in their vehicles were in a San Luis Obispo courtroom today asking to have all the tickets thrown out.
The defense attorneys who are representing this group pro bono are seeking to have about 70 citations dismissed.
Attorneys Saro Rizzo and Stew Jenkins say the city ordinance that prohibits people from sleeping in their cars, campers, and RVs is vague, applies to private property rather than city streets, and is being applied unfairly to the homeless.
Jenkins says police have no records of any citations issued from 1995 when the ordinance went into effect through 2002. From 2002 to the end of 2011 78-citations were issued, then from January this year through mid June 79-citations were handed out to the homeless.
The attorneys are asking the commissioner to throw out about 70 of those tickets, essentially code violations, issued to their clients.
Attorney Saro Rizzo says, "This is the worst recession since the great depression, people are at the bottom, on limited means, a lot of them are on disability, and they need to someplace to go, I think it behooves us as human beings to try to facilitate that."
The city maintains the ordinance is clear, applies to all of San Luis Obispo, and denies that it is being enforced unfairly.
Rizzo and Jenkins are also suing the city over this ordinance, earlier this month the judge in the case issued an injunction to stop the ticketing for now.
Tuesday the City Council voted 4 - 1 to pass an emergency ordinance that allows police to resume ticketing. The attorneys will be back in court on this case later this month.
As for the citations, the commissioner today heard from both sides, the city and the attorneys for the homeless. He is now reviewing the matter and will issue a ruling after July 24th. He could decide that all those tickets, about 70, will move forward to trial or he could decide for the defense and throw out all the tickets.
