What happens when a CA homeless camping case goes to trial?

It was supposed to be a trial that would be closely watched by California homelessness advocates, public defenders and legal experts. But instead, the case was thrown out by the judge — leaving some stakeholders wondering whether it makes sense to arrest homeless people at all.

As CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall explains, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year granting local governments more authority to clear homeless encampments, cities across California have enacted more punitive policies banning public camping — including citing and arresting unhoused residents. 

But some attorneys and the unhoused residents they represent are eager to bring their cases before juries in order to demonstrate the shortcomings of enforcing camping bans and clear their names. That includes Wickey Two Hands, a 77-year-old homeless man who was poised to be the first person tried in court under Fresno’s anti-camping ban after police arrested him last year.

On April 10, however, a judge ended up dismissing all charges because the city waited too long to prosecute. 

The case’s conclusion underscores the considerable amount of time, labor and resources used — not only from the city and county, but also Two Hands’ lawyer, activists and local journalists — to enforce a policy that seeks to penalize public camping.

• Ron Hochbaum, a law professor at the University of the Pacific: “When you think about all the people who were involved, from police to the city attorney’s office to judges and court clerks and so on. That’s probably hundreds of hours of work and thousands of dollars wasted. And that money would be better spent by simply offering Mr. Two Hands housing without arresting him.”

Read more here.

In the aftermath of voters passing Proposition 36 in November to increase penalties for theft and other crimes, some Republican legislators have found their tough-on-crime bills are advancing further than before in a Legislature dominated by Democrats, reports CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang.

Senate GOP Leader Brian Jones of San Diego, for example, authored a bill that would add regulatory guardrails before the Department of State Hospitals releases sexually violent predators. In his fourth attempt to push the proposal, the Senate Public Safety Committee unanimously approved the bill earlier this month. Last year the proposal died in the Assembly after advancing through the Senate, and in previous years the bill never passed through committee. 

Jones says that after Prop. 36, he noticed a shift among Democrats and their attitudes toward stricter incarceration measures.

• Jones: “The smart Democrats are getting it. The voters spoke overwhelmingly.”

But some criminal justice advocates don’t see it that way. Tinisch Hollins, the executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice, pointed out that the Legislature is also advancing bills the organization is sponsoring, including ones that would expand the state’s efforts to clear criminal records and require the California Department of Corrections to apply more good behavior credits to reduce prisoners’ time served.

• Hollins: “Even Prop. 36 wasn’t a referendum on reform. There’s still plenty of support for different approaches to public safety that really address the root cause and prevent crime from happening in the first place.”

Read more here.

As part of President Donald Trump’s push to cut assistance to undocumented immigrants, his administration is revoking one vital policy that allows California to help students who don’t have legal status, writes CalMatters’ Adam Echelman.

In 2022 the federal TRIO programs — which provides financial assistance and counseling to low-income and first-generation college students — granted California special permission to also serve students who don’t have legal status. But in March, the U.S. Department of Education said it was revoking waivers to California colleges and universities that use federal funds to “provide services to illegal aliens.”

It’s difficult to track how many California college students lack legal status, but some data suggests that it could number in the thousands — most of whom attend community colleges. More than 100,000 California students are reportedly enrolled in TRIO programs.

Read more here. 

After the Palisades Fire destroyed two coastal Los Angeles mobile home parks, displaced residents face steep challenges including limited insurance and unresponsive park owners. CalMatters’ Felicia Mello, Mia Henry and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment on residents’ struggle to rebuild their lives as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

And check out another video from CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall and Robert about the Skid Row Running Club in downtown L.A., which provides health and hope for unhoused residents recovering from addiction. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.