Friday, May 10, 2013
Breaking: City to be enjoined by federal court on (de)Occupy raids
by Larry Geller
As a result of a status conference held this morning in Judge J. Michael Seabright’s chambers, an agreement has been reached in which the attorneys for (de)Occupy Honolulu and for the City and County of Honolulu will work together on the wording of a stipulated preliminary injunction based upon plaintiff’s challenge to the city’s ordinance. An evidentiary hearing will not be necessary.
More details will be available at the May 17 hearing in federal court. This report is based on the court’s posted summary of the outcome of the status conference.
It is possible that the stipulation will apply only to what has been described as illegal destruction of property, or it could be wider. The clerk’s report referred to an injunction “addressing Plaintiffs' as-applied challenge to the ordinance,” rather than to the ordinance as a whole.
The judge also asked to be optionally briefed by both parties on whether the ordinance’s fee requirements violate due process.
This refers to a fee required to be paid to retrieve items picked up from the streets by the City. The fee ($200) may routinely exceed the value of the items confiscated, and in any case may violate due process.
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