Editorial: Good law, bad attitude

Wednesday, April 19, 2006 | 7:22 a.m.

A recent federal appeals court decision that cites a Las Vegas ordinance as an example of one that manages to "avoid criminalizing the status of homelessness" appears to be high praise.

After all, it seems to contradict a National Coalition for the Homeless rating that in January ranked Las Vegas as the fifth "meanest city in 2005" regarding its treatment of homeless people. But according to a story in the Las Vegas Sun on Tuesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday cited Las Vegas' ordinance in a case involving the Los Angeles Police Department.

In Los Angeles, the San Francisco-based appeals court said, people who were homeless were being arrested merely for sitting, lying and sleeping on streets, sidewalks and other public areas. The policy, the court said, amounted to "cruel and unusual punishment" for being homeless.

In comparison, Las Vegas' ordinance doesn't criminalize such actions unless the person, by doing them, also is voluntarily or involuntarily creating an obstruction on pedestrian paths or roadways.

Las Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic considered the appeals court decision praise for what he characterized as a good ordinance - one that Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said "meets constitutional muster."

Meeting public muster is harder, however. Critics say - and rightly so - that the decision illustrates how even a good law can be tainted through bad application. In Las Vegas, the law isn't the problem. The problem lies in its enforcement. And attitudes often are tougher to change than laws.

Robert Langford, a criminal defense attorney who sees many cases involving homelessness played out in Las Vegas Municipal Court, said the city's ordinance routinely is used as grounds for arresting people who sleep on benches, stand in parking lots or - amazingly - walk on the wrong side of a crosswalk. A conviction for one of these misdemeanors can result in a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail. A motorist who runs over and kills someone walking three feet beyond a crosswalk typically receives less punishment.

To say that Las Vegas' ordinance regarding homelessness is constitutional is not the same as saying it is humanely applied. As Allen Lichtenstein, attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, correctly told the Sun, homelessness is best addressed through effectively administering social services rather than creatively administering handcuffs.