It was an unusual scene Thursday in the ordinarily staid chambers of federal court: Local officials lined up to have a judge grill them about finding as many beds as possible to quickly get homeless people off the streets of Los Angeles County amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The emergency hearing was called by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter for a lawsuit filed last week by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, a group of business owners, downtown residents and others who are demanding solutions to what they call unsafe and inhumane conditions in encampments.
Skid row advocacy groups also are involved in the case, worried that any decision could undermine a previous settlement related to the personal property rights of homeless people.
No decisions about the lawsuit were made Thursday, but the extraordinary two-part, nearly five-hour session featured an array of Los Angeles leaders, including Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Atty. Mike Feuer, Police Chief Michel Moore,county Supervisor Kathryn Barger and City Council President Nury Martinez.
Read the full story on LATimes.com.