Just filed in the Los Angeles homeless case w/ Judge Carter: LA County’s request that he stay his own order while they appeal. “The Court ordered extraordinary relief which, if implemented, would interrupt the County’s current efforts to address the homelessness crisis.”
Also, the appellate pile on against Judge Carter’s injunction is mounting. @LACANetwork and @shaylarmyers filed notice of appeal today, joining the city and county of Los Angeles.
Here’s a statement from Los Angeles County’s outside counsel, Skip Miller of @MillerBarondess. “It upends long-term plans for permanent housing in favor of a temporary fix that would create a revolving door, not a way out, for persons trapped in homelessness.”
Ok I’m here at the Downtown Women’s Center on Skid Row for the 10 am hearing with Judge Carter. It looks like we’ll be in this tent. Tight limits on attendance, apparently. I’ll tweet updates on this thread right here. 🧵
We’ve got a couple federal marshals here making their presence known, but everything is very calm right now. The gate to the lot is closed and Judge Carter and special master @Michele714 are getting ready.
Judge Carter visiting with several people including @abales, plaintiff’s attorney Elizabeth Mitchell and @HughHewitt, who goes so far back with Carter he remembers being thrown out of his courtroom 25 years ago.
I’m catching up on @MayorofLA@ericgarcetti's answer to @reporterclaudia's question re: Judge Carter, and Garcetti says something at the veeeeery end of his answer that's quite 👀 opening. A thread! (1/11)
On whether Carter is looking to take over, Garcetti tells @ReporterClaudia: "The court doesn't have the jurisdiction to do that at this point; in fact the case hasn't even begun."
Uh, say what now? 🤔 (2/11)
Contrary to what @MayorofLA said, the case has, in fact, begun. It began in March 2020. But as the rest of his comment indicates, what Garcetti probably actually meant is there is no consent decree or settlement in place giving Carter control of homeless services in LA. (3/11)
Alright we are back in OC Superior for day what is it, five? of the @PIMCO founder Bill Gross restraining order hearing. You can watch online here: We're back tomorrow at 1:30, then all day Thursday.
Back on the stand is Efrain Alba, Gross' property manager. His full-time job is to take care of Gross' mansion in Laguna Beach. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Sounds like a good gig! Apparently we're also going to hear today from Rob Giem, Gross' realtor.
Mask patrol: "Mr. Gross, I'm gong to ask you to please place your mask back over your nose and mouth," Judge Knill just now.
INBOX: Looks like @PIMCO founder Bill Gross knows the restraining order hearing hasn’t been going all that well for him. He just issued “an open letter from Bill Gross” that calls for an end to his legal case and donations of legal fees to food banks etc prnewswire.com/news-releases/…
Gross acknowledges his taste in a “theme song to a 1960s sitcom.” “I want nothing more than to be a good neighbor, even if it means revising my choice in music.” But will he turn his music down? Doesn’t say!
One way to sum this up: A billionaire (with a B!) is putting forth the bold idea of donating some bucks to pandemic-related charities if the neighbor he’s accused of harassing drops his court case.
ICYMI: I looked at Orange County’s homeless situation for @latimes/@TheDailyPilot’s Sunday Times OC, specifically Santa Ana’s current lawsuit over jail releases.
My reporting introduced me to Vaskin Koshkerian of the volunteer group Micah’s Way. With his RV stationed outside the jail most nights, he tries to help newly released inmates navigate the outside world. That’s put him on the front lines of the legal saga. lat.ms/37Dqct4
The OC situation is getting heightened attention right now with Judge Carter’s work in Los Angeles. In the debate over @BobBlumenfield’s anti-camping ordinance, @MikeBoninLA cites Carter’s OC work as a model for what LA could do i.e. move people into housing with no arrests.
I’m here at the OC federal building, and it turns out Michael Avenatti will *not* be here in person for the 9 am pre-trial hearing. “We decided to play it safe,” his lawyer Dean Steward told me in the hallway just now, referring to covid19. #housearrest
Court clerk observes: “I think the government needs to invest in a barber.”
“Until we get to the orange tier, I’m not cutting,” Prosecutor Brett Sagel says.
Sagel asks Steward about Avenatti, and Steward says he’ll be on the phone.
Sagel is arguing against severance first. At issue is NFL settlement theft. Selna tentatively is allowing it to be mentioned in the client theft counts, but Sagel says it’s intertwined with the bankruptcy fraud, too, because Avenatti hid it from bankruptcy court.