No Living-In-Car Ordinance Held Unconstitutional.

Plaintiffs are four homeless persons who are Living-In-Car contend a city ordinance is unconstitutional. In 1983, the City of Los Angeles enacted an ordinance, Municipal Code section 85.02:  “No person shall use a vehicle parked or standing upon any City street, or upon any parking lot owned by the City of Los Angeles and under the control of the City of Los Angeles or under control of the Los Angeles Department of Beaches and Harbors, as living quarters either overnight, day-by-day, or otherwise.” A federal district court granted defendants summary judgment as to all claims. In reversing and finding the law violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Ninth Circuit stated: “For many homeless persons, their automobile may be their last major possession—the means by which they can look for work and seek social services.  The City of Los Angeles has many options at its disposal to alleviate the plight and suffering of its homeless citizens.  Selectively preventing the homeless and the poor from using their vehicles for activities many other citizens also conduct in their cars should not be one of those options.” (Desertrain v. City of Los Angeles (Ninth Circuit; June 19, 2014)754 F.3d 1147.)