For years, nearly 6,000 Los Angeles residents lived under draconian curfew restrictions—often prohibiting them from being outside after 10 p.m.—due to 26 unconstitutional gang injunctions. Law enforcement officers could add someone’s name to a gang injunction list with virtually no verification or oversight, serve them the injunction, and significantly constrain that person’s liberty.
In 2011, Public Counsel—along with Olu K. Orange, Esq. and Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai, LLP—filed a federal class action to challenge the City’s unconstitutional curfew provisions. In 2016, a groundbreaking settlement was reached with the City of Los Angeles, in which the City agreed to invest up to $30 million in a job training and apprenticeships program for class members.
Earlier this year, Public Counsel took the City back to court after learning people were being turned away from or subjected to an unnecessarily difficult process for obtaining program benefits. The City also spent as much as three times the amount allowed on administrative expenses, all while the vast majority of class members did not receive anything from the program.
In a significant victory for class members, a federal judge has granted our Motion to Enforce and ordered the City of Los Angeles to indefinitely extend the jobs and education program as it undergoes a forensic audit. The audit, conducted by an independent examiner and overseen by a special master, will investigate overspending on program administration and deterrents to class member participation. Upon conclusion of the audit, the special master will recommend appropriate reforms to the court.
Learn more about Rodriguez v. City of Los Angeles and this latest victory here.
