Homeless have right to reclaim property

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 9/6/12 | Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

[SmithL]

A city that seizes homeless people's property from a street or sidewalk must preserve it so that the owner has a chance to reclaim it, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

"The government may not take property like a thief in the night; rather, it must announce its intentions and give the property owner a chance to argue against the taking," the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said.

The 2-1 decision, which has statewide implications, upheld a federal judge's order last year that allowed residents of Los Angeles' Skid Row to leave personal possessions on the sidewalk during brief absences to eat or use a restroom. Police could seize the property only if it was hazardous or appeared to have been abandoned, the court said, but must leave notice of where it was taken and give the owner up to 90 days to retrieve it.

[SmithL]

Wardlaw, Kim McLane

Born 1954 in San Francisco, CA

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Nominated by William J. Clinton on August 10, 1995, to a seat vacated by David V. Kenyon. Confirmed by the Senate on December 22, 1995, and received commission on December 26, 1995. Service terminated on August 3, 1998, due to appointment to another judicial position.

Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Nominated by William J. Clinton on January 27, 1998, to a seat vacated by J. Clifford Wallace. Confirmed by the Senate on July 31, 1998, and received commission on August 3, 1998.

Education:
University of California, Los Angeles, A.B., 1976
University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, J.D., 1979

Professional Career:
Law clerk, Hon. William P. Gray, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 1979-1980
Private practice, Los Angeles, California, 1980-1995
Member, Justice Team I, Department of Justice, Presidential Transition, 1992-1993
Member, Mayoral Transition Committee, Los Angeles Mayor-elect Richard Riordan, 1993

[doc1019]

Does that include the shopping cart?

[JRandomFreeper]

The government may not take property like a thief in the night

Since when? And this is from the 9th Circus? I gotta lay off the peyote.... I'm having visions of unreal things...

/johnny

[sagar]

Homeless property like shooting needles and elastic band?

[HiTech RedNeck]

Prolly talking cardboard boxes and blankets and such. Hey, that was MY box with the Tide logos on it, I want it back.

[lastchance]

It is a good ruling. Private property is protected from unlawful seizure no matter its value or the circumstances of the owner.

[unixfox]

The government may not take property like a thief in the night

Really? So, what about that ole eminent domain thing you assholes seem to like?

[sagar]

I guess those are legitimate properties. I have nothing against homeless, but in this country if you are homeless, there is something very wrong with you. You cannot be an able bodied, able minded individual and become homeless unless you are lazy!

[JRandomFreeper]

I got quite an education when I worked for the Census in 2010, counting the street people.

One guy had a backpack he wouldn't set down that had a lot of books in it. Sure, he was crazy, but he wasn't strung out on drugs, and was a voracious reader.

It's not all like you think, except for the unwashed body odor.

/johnny

[JRandomFreeper]

Private property is protected from unlawful seizure no matter its value or the circumstances of the owner.

Amen.

/johnny

[HiTech RedNeck]

Many of these folks are on the edge of craziness.

[familyop]

Hey, might as well, with laws in the West that allow the elite to take advantage of their encroachments against neighbors and steal parts of their land.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I guess when it’s an actual piece of the state they look at it differently.

[JRandomFreeper]

Is it me that you are calling an a-hole (I'm not disputing the charge at this point), or the 9th Circus?

/johnny

[citizen]

The shopping cart they stole from Walmart or Kroger...but, gee, they “needed it.”

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Oh for the good old days when VAGRANCY LAWS were enforced!

[TaMoDee]

Totally agree! You are right on! Personal property is personal property no matter whose property it’s still personal. We have fought wars for the protection of this right against illegal seizure by a government.

[autumnraine]

Is this sanitary? Not being ugly, we are all vulnerable sometimes, but lice seems to be an issue in some shelters, so it would stand to reason that someone’s belongings have it possibly?

[autumnraine]

Yes, I agree with you on principle. But I do hope they seal the belongings in a garbage bag (my flash idea after my last post).