Day-labor crackdown in Redondo Beach is legal, appeals court rules

Day-labor crackdown in Redondo Beach is legal, appeals court rules | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

"A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Redondo Beach city authorities are entitled to prohibit people from soliciting work or money by approaching motorists in the street. The 2-1 ruling by a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturns a lower-court opinion that barring street solicitation interferes with individuals’ 1st and 4th Amendment rights unless alternative sites are identified where the solicitors can speak and assemble freely. Redondo Beach city leaders were sued by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network after they passed an ordinance in 2004 prohibiting solicitors from city streets. The appeals court decision that cities are justified in taking such steps to prevent safety hazards and traffic disruptions could encourage other municipalities to ban solicitation on their streets and highways."

Redondo Beach has been particularly aggressive in cracking down on day laborers.

This little-publicized decision by the normally leftist-leaning 9th circuit court may turn out to have far reaching effects upon local CA cities ability to pass ordinances banning day laborers from clogging and harrassing shoppers/motorists at home depots. BTW Redondo Beach is a medium-sized beach front municipality located in the South Bay region in LA county.