Thread by @meghanncuniff

I’m here at the First Street federal courthouse in Los Angeles for a hearing in the lawsuit over homelessness in LA with Judge Carter. We’ll be getting started soon and I’ll be tweeting updates on this thread so stay tuned. 🧵

The purpose of today's hearing is to discuss the city and county's progress on agreement for 6700 new shelter beds with priority for people near freeways. There has been A LOT of misinformation about this agreement, which should make for an interesting discussion today.

Notably: Legions of people seem completely convinced that the freeway bed agreement is actually an order from Judge Carter. @latimes reports this as fact, and politicos etc often reference Carter's freeway order.

BUT, as avid readers of my LA homeless lawsuit tweets fully and 100 percent understand, the freeway agreement is just that - an agreement. It's NOT an order from the judge. It started out that way, but the city and county came up with their own deal to avoid the order.

I've explained this in a few threads, including this one from back in February:

https://twitter.com/meghanncuniff/status/1361717609356402691

OK Judge Carter just took the mic. Today is all about the progress (or lack of progress?) on the freeway agreement. I've tweeted a few filings about this recently that I'll try to dig out now.

We're starting out with a history lesson: Judge Carter's preliminary injunction regarding freeway dwellers, from May 22, 2020. (Document 123 for the PACER nerds.) THIS is the actual freeway order. But remember: It didn't take effect.

Carter: "Many OF you literally aren't reading the court's orders, apparently." YEP.

The LA Alliance plaintiffs aren't part of the county and city's freeway agreement, but as players in the lawsuit they filed a brief opining on the progress. Here's a Google Drive link to it: drive.google.com/file/d/1zU0ys5…

Carter says if city and county disagree that living under or over freeways is dangerous, then the city needs to bring the court a permit to allow people to live under freeways. "That just requires a yes or a no."

Carter asks Scott Marcus, counsel for City of LA, if he can bring permit. Marcus says he can't answer it. Is it acceptable to live under freeways? Overpasses? Underpasses? "With decrease of 23 years" of life expectancy for people near freeways why would city or court endorse this

Carter goes over leading causes of death for homeless people. Heart attacks, drug overdoses, getting hit by cars. The last one is something he feels he can directly affect.

Judge Andre Birotte just joined Carter on the bench, and Carter let him know he's doing some reading aloud from the original freeway order because apparently a lot of people just can't read it themselves.

Here's a Google Drive link to the order Judge Carter is reading aloud. Remember, it never took effect because the city and county struck their own deal. drive.google.com/file/d/127TtHW…

Keep in mind this order was issued about two months into the lawsuit, back in May 2020. Read the order and it's hard to imagine how anyone could honestly be surprised at the tone and scope of Carter's big, 110-page injunction. Anyone who didn't see this coming is a moron.

OK done reading the order. Carter now discussing the aftermath, and the push by the city and county to negotiate a deal to avoid Carter's freeway order. Carter says just now that he took a risk with them, because the court's promises need to have weight.

Carter says county and city told him they'd finalize an agreement within two weeks, but it took four months. That's an initial concern for him. What else happened? He's telling us now.

Carter is going over the June 18, 2020, agreement between the county and city regarding freeway beds (which it's kind of crazy that I have to say it, but well look at all the confusion: The agreement is not a court order.) You can read it here.

The full, two-page agreement is here on my Google Drive: drive.google.com/file/d/1LTBEe9…

I want to show you apparently what you're capable of doing. Carter invites Heidi Marston or "any representative of @LAHomeless). Heidi is here in the courtroom and steps up.

Oh here we go: Judge Carter shows a photo of pathway to the Academy Awards. No homeless camps in sight. "This was cleared somehow." Says it had been filled with homeless camps and if you don't know that, you don't know Los Angeles.

Carter shows photos of freeway overpasses not used for Academy Awards. Of course, there are tents everywhere.

Carter asks Heidi Marston: "I'm curious and quite frankly interested in how you were able to accomplish this." Says he didn't hear of any arrests, so in a sense you've got a compliment from the court.

Marston says the area was closed before Academy Awards prep and people were offered shelter prior to closure. Carter asks her who made the decision to close those areas.

Carter:"I'm used to dealing with that. The mystical Wizard of Oz." Asks if it was "Nury Martinez? Mayor Garcetti? A bureaucrat? Who?" "You don't know who? Somebody had to make that decision above your pay grade?"

"Why did we cover up this humanity and inhumanity to the very people in Hollywood who have a heart and might see this and be the most capable and able public figures...?" Carter asks Marston.

Carter: "Why did we cover this over and who made that decision?"
Marston: "LAHSA does not make that decision."
Carter: "If we can do this for Hollywood why can't we do this for Curren Price's district or Kevin DeLeon's district? And who's making these decisions?" @CurrenDPriceJr

Los Angeles counsel Scott Marcus says he's going off not first-hand knowledge of the clearings but the photos Carter's displaying. Marston confirms this is all true and really did happen.

Carter shows a photo of a woman camped near an onramp to the 110 freeway and says she prefers the location because she feels it keeps her safe from would-be rapists. The photos are from @CurrenDPriceJr's district.

"These folks are suffering just like the west side of Los Angeles is suffering, in fact even more so," Carter says.

"Get out of your offices and start walking around your own communities." (I will say it's a pretty big assumption that anyone in this courtroom hasn't actually seen this with their own eyes.)

"Who? Who? I sound like an owl. Who?" Carter says to Marston regarding the Academy Award encampment clearings.

Carter's now got up on the overhead the city's progress report on the freeway agreement, filed April 15. Here's the full document through my Google Drive: drive.google.com/file/d/1IVe8sY…

Judge Carter's got a lot of questions about city v. county funding of these beds and whether what's actually happening matches the agreement term sheet.

Carter asks about 644 "rapid rehousing" beds that still are listed as in process. Asks LA counsel Scott Marcus why they're being counted if they're not ready. "The city has been 100 percent transparent," Marcus says. "No, no, no," Carter says.

Carter to LA County's lawyer Skip Miller of @MillerBarondess: "Mr. Miller, this is going to take a lot of concentration."
"I'll do my best, your honor," Miller says.

Carter: "Within 10 months, there's supposed to be 6,000 new beds. 700 additional within 18 months. Is that correct?"
"That's what it says," Miller says.

Carter: "And now go back to your agreement with the city," and see if you agree priority is people under or over freeways, and those 65 or older. Yes, Miller does.

Carter focuses on what LA Alliance focused on in their recent brief: Out of all these beds, only 396 have been dedicated to people living under or over freeways or age 65 and over.

Meanwhile, 1,343 homeless people not in the priority categories have gotten the beds. Judge Carter asks why. Scott Marcus answers that not everyone accepts a bed, and why leave a bed empty if someone from a non-priority group will take it.

Carter asks Marcus about FEMA reimbursement for Project Roomkey. Marcus says city applied for $54 million with apps pending. Carter says actually it's over $100 million. "Regardless of what you've applied for, you've got well over $100 million out there that you could request."

Marcus says the city is conducting an audit that will be done by July. Carter says we'll see a lot tomorrow about all the money allocated for homelessness "And so tomorrow we're going to be talking a lot about money and audits...Tomorrow's going to be quite a day."

Carter asks what the plan is FEMA reimbursement. "Right now it could be arguing that you're pocketing this. What are you going to do with that $100 million, Mr. Marcus? What's your plan?"

Marcus said he disagrees that the reimbursement is somehow double dipping. Says the money will be used for homelessness. Also reiterates that there's an audit, and Carter notes that he ordered an audit. Marcus says it'll be done in July.

Carter says today's hearing could be short (we've already been here for 70 minutes) but tomorrow's will be pretty jam packed! (So in case you're bored now, just stay tuned.)

LA Alliance attorney Liz Mitchell is up now, detailing her concerns with the city and county's freeway agreement and the 396 freeway dwellers served. She said so few being served seems like "a material breach of the agreement."

Carter shows us the beginning of what we'll see tomorrow, citing state auditor Elaine Howle: "The auditor said the approach to dealing with homelessness is so fragmented and incomplete it actually hinders efforts at getting people into stable housing."

Carter says he believes city and county has all the resources needed, but no accountability, and we're going to hear all about this tomorrow.

Carter gives an ominous warning about no shows for tomorrow's hearing, without actually naming @MayorOfLA Eric Garcetti: "By their nonappearance, you've validated structural racism."

Regarding his threatened freeway order, Carter says he's not ready to go there. Yet. But he's not going to wait 18 months for the city and county to keep trying to fulfill the agreement.

Carter takes issue with Marcus' statement that the city is conducting its own audit. His order was for an independent audit. "You're trying to control your own future through some audit."

Carter says city has been "very obtuse" with Special Master Michele Martinez regarding the independence of the audit. Carter asks why not enlist the state auditor for an audit?

Carter asks Skip Miller: "Why isn't there a complete willingness on the county's part" for an audit? Why not agree and take that off the 9th Circuit's plate regarding the appeal?

Miller says it's not necessary and would be reinventing the wheel. Carter says we'll leave this discussion for tomorrow.

"What's tomorrow going to look like, your honor?" Miller asks.
"I don't know. I'm going to be here at 9 o'clock," Carter says.
And we're in recess! That's it for the day. Back here tomorrow at 10 a.m. Look for tweets.

Correction - tomorrow we start at 9, not 10. So Carter probably meant he’d be there at 8 not 9. 🙃