Economic Justice

The U.S. District Court today denied the ACLU’s motion for a temporary restraining order prohibiting the City of Seattle and the Washington State Dept. of Transportation (WSDOT) from seizing and destroying homeless people’s property without probable cause and constitutionally adequate notice.

The Episcopal Diocese, Real Change, and two homeless individuals filed a class action lawsuit against the City of Seattle and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) for violating the constitutional rights of people living outside by seizing and often throwing away their property – without adequate notice, an opportunity to be heard, or a meaningful way to reclaim any property that was not immediately destroyed.

The ACLU-WA and allies are pointing local officials statewide to an important Dept. of Justice brief. It explains that when there is insufficient shelter space, cities that prosecute homeless people for sleeping or camping in public places violate the Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.