(December 20, 2011 at 3:13 am)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote:(December 20, 2011 at 2:57 am)Rhythm Wrote: They actually do that every couple of weeks. They don't need any sort of process, that tent city is illegal..lol.
Sure, I get that. I don't dispute for a second that it's illegal, and that under that law, the police have the power to evict squatters and arrest those that won't comply.
What I was getting at is that without due process, this seems to be a clear 4th Amendment violation in that they're being deprived of of their property. Of course, none of them could afford a lawyer to pursue a civil rights case, so I guess they're just fucked.
That's one fucked up way to deal with homelessness.
I'm not sure in what sense your meaning property, but I'm assuming you mean items that they own such as the tents being destroyed. They made the 'choice' (I know they had no where else to go, but taking a legal standpoint) to loiter or trespass (whichever they're being convicted of) on the property which they placed their tents on. Thus, they lost their right to their property by imposing on someone else's.
I think a case could be made for the unethical conduct the law or act enforces, however. Homelessness is a slippery slope, legally. In most cases, the one who owns the property (land) has the right, whether that owner is the state or an individual.
Brevity is the soul of wit.
