Comite de Jornaleros de Redondo Beach v. City of Redondo Beach

No. CV 04-9396-CBM (C.D. Cal. August 8, 2005) ; Clearinghouse Number: 55952

Description

Ninth Circuit Upholds Preliminary Injunction for Plaintiffs Challenging an Anti-Day-Laborer Ordinance

Abstract

In an unpublished memorandum, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s preliminary injunction in favor of a local and a national association of day laborers in the associations’ suit challenging a city ordinance that prohibited soliciting employment on the street or stopping a vehicle to hire someone from the street. Plaintiffs challenged the ordinance under Section 1983 as violating the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Prohibiting enforcement of the ordinance during the suit’s pendency, the district court found that plaintiffs established standing under Article III and prudential limitations and that the ordinance was unconstitutionally content-based because it restricted only solicitation of employment, business, or contributions but not other types of speech. The district court questioned whether the ordinance was narrowly tailored to address the city’s concern about traffic flow, vandalism, littering, and public urination and whether the ordinance left open alternative channels of communication. The balance of hardship favored plaintiffs, who were subject to arrest, fines, and loss of livelihood so long as the ordinance was in effect, the district court found. In a brief opinion, the Ninth Circuit held that the district court did not abuse its discretion.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Plaintiff-Appellees represented by Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, 634 S. Springs St., Los Angeles, CA 90014 (213.629.2512).
Docket Date
2005-08-08 00:00:00+00:00