Sacramento, CA. Press Release/Announcement of Press Conference on Presiding Judge’s Letter

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For Immediate Release:
July 6, 2023

Homeless Union responds to Judge’s insistence that unsheltered persons be cleared from the Courthouse; Cites possible bias, disregard of Judicial Ethics and California Rules of Court
Union to hold courthouse press conference at Noon, Tuesday, July 11, 2023

The Sacramento Homeless Union is concerned that a letter dated June 29, 2023, from Michael G. Bowman, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of California for Sacramento demanding that the City of Sacramento remove unsheltered, unhoused persons from the courthouse may have violated the California Code of Judicial Ethics.

Says Crystal Sanchez, President of the Sacramento Homeless Union: “Judge Bowman’s letter paints a one-sided, greatly exaggerated picture of rampant crime at the Courthouse, allegedly committed by people who may not even be camping there, that is not supported by the police department’s own online crime maps.”

For the area including the Courthouse and the immediate vicinity, the crime map shows that for the entire period from June 1, 2023 through July 5, 2023 only three serious crimes were committed. The reports do not identify the housing status of the suspects or whether the alleged perpetrators were camped at the courthouse.

In addition, the Union is concerned that Judge Bowman’s letter may have implicated Canon 2A of the Code of Judicial Ethics which states: “A judge shall not make statements, whether public or nonpublic, that commit the judge with respect to cases, controversies, or issues that are likely to come before the courts[.]” (California Code of Judicial Ethics, Canon 2A, Emphasis added.)

Says Prince, “By alleging “a growing number of encounters” between “the unsheltered” and members of the public and insisting that the City increase ‘code enforcement’ and “police presence” at and around the Courthouse because the unsheltered are “threatening access to justice,” we are concerned that Judge Bowman has committed himself to an issue that has already repeatedly been before the courts and is “likely to come before the courts.”

Indeed, as recently as last summer the Union was forced to go to court and obtain successive preliminary injunctions to stop the City from removing homeless persons from public spaces where they were trying to escape dangerously excessive heat. Last week, according to Prince, the City Attorney’s office used Judge Bowman’s letter to justify cutting off negotiations already underway aimed at an agreement to protect the homeless from this summer’s expected temperature extremes.

“The Superior Court should be a place where we are able to challenge – and have challenged — the constitutionality of City policies regarding the homeless, particularly when they involve affirmative acts that increase the risk of harm,” says Prince. “We feel that intended or not, the effect of Presiding Judge Bowman’s letter might make the courts less hospitable to such claims.”

Finally, the Union is concerned that Judge Bowman refused the Union’s formal, written request sent July 2, 2023, to meet with a delegation from the Union and discuss the issues raised in his letter. California Rules of Court require presiding judges to meet with or appoint other judges “to meet with any committee of the bench, bar, news media, or community to review problems and to promote understanding of the administration of justice, when appropriate.” (Calif. Rules of Court, Rule 10.603(c)(8)(B) (Emphasis added.)

Given that the Sacramento Homeless Union, representing some 2,700 unhoused and marginally housed Sacramentans, would seem to qualify as a “committee of the community,” the question arises whether Judge Bowman’s failure to meet with the Union or appoint another judge to do so is consistent with the rules.

“Judge Bowman frames his position as stemming from concerns about ‘access to justice’ says Prince. “But the tone and content of his letter could suggest a bias against the homeless that intended or not, could send a signal that in the Sacramento Superior Courts the unhoused “access to justice” may not include the unhoused.

PRESS CONFERENCE
12:00 Noon, Tuesday, July 11, 2023 Sacramento Superior Court, 915 I Street,
Sacramento, CA 95814

For further information, contact princelawoffices@yahoo.com or call 510-301-1472