CA judge criticized for homeless camp ruling

A federal judge who ordered a California county to care for hundreds of homeless people has no legal right to do so, says a California-based attorney. 

Orange County has been ordered to provide housing, including subsidizing hundreds of hotel rooms, for tent-dwellers when the county cleans up their hazardous encampment located in a creek bed. 

"This is judicial activism on steroids," complains Brad Dacus with Pacific Justice Institute.

"This judge has no constitutional basis by which to compel the taxpayers of Orange County to provide benefits," says Dacus, "that are not legislatively mandated and are not protected by a constitutional right."

The order from Judge David Carter came after the judge set up a makeshift courtroom next to the encampment and forced the county and homeless activists to come to terms.

While the judge's intention might be well-meaning, says Dacus, it symbolizes that he wants to do what he wants at the expense of the judicial system and its due process.

"It will not take long for other homeless in other parts of the state, and even outside California," Dacus predicts, "to hear about how they can have free hotel housing, free storage, free benefits, free examinations - all at the expense of the taxpayers of Orange County, California."

A practical solution is using non-profits who specialize in helping the homeless but PJI is well-acquainted with the state's hostility to religion, he adds.