Hayman v. Block

• Decision Date: 14 January 1986
• Citation: 222 Cal.Rptr. 293,176 Cal.App.3d 629
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: Reverend Ann HAYMAN, Thomas Norman, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. Sherman BLOCK, Sheriff of Los Angeles County, Defendant and Respondent. B014508.

Page 293

222 Cal.Rptr. 293

176 Cal.App.3d 629

Reverend Ann HAYMAN, Thomas Norman, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. Sherman BLOCK, Sheriff of Los Angeles County, Defendant and Respondent.

B014508.

Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 7, California.

Jan. 14, 1986.

Review Denied May 8, 1986.

ACLU Foundation of Southern California, Paul L. Hoffman, Mark D. Rosenbaum, Joan W. Howarth, Susan D. McGreivy, Robert C. Black, Elaine Burton, for plaintiffs and appellants.

De Witt W. Clinton, County Counsel, Frederick R. Bennett, Principal Deputy County Counsel, for defendant and respondent.

MORROW ^*, Associate Justice

Plaintiffs appeal from a summary judgment in favor of Defendant Sherman Block, Sheriff of Los Angeles County. The judgment is affirmed.

This is a taxpayers' suit brought pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure sections 526a (injunctive relief) and 1060 (declaratory relief), and 42 United States Code section 1983.

Plaintiff Reverend Ann Hayman is Director of the Mary Magdalene Project, a mission in Hollywood founded to rehabilitate prostitutes. Plaintiff Thomas Norman is a volunteer working with women at Catharsis, an association organized to aid women who were formerly engaged in prostitution. The defendants were the City Attorney of Los Angeles, ¹ the Chief of Police of the City of Los Angeles, ² and the Sheriff of Los Angeles County. Only Sherman Block, the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, is respondent in this appeal.

Appellants' complaint was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on May 10, 1983, and it alleged that respondent Block, as the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, is responsible for policing the unincorporated parts of the county and for maintaining the Los Angeles County jails. Appellants alleged that respondent had violated his oath and duties through a practice and policy of discriminatory and unconstitutional enforcement of Penal Code sections 370 and 372, ³ and through the use of discriminatory arrest and bail procedures. "On information and belief," appellants alleged that: "thousands" of men and women are being harassed, mistreated and arrested as public nuisances; such persons, believed by law enforcement to be streetwalking prostitutes, are being illegally detained, searched and photographed; photographs of those persons are on file at the police station; their money is taken from them and bail denied to them; black women have been arrested far more than white women and men; men and women pedestrians have been "herded together and marched ... into another jurisdiction" and forced "to stand at attention in the rain and cold with arms handcuffed and raised overhead for long periods of time." Appellants alleged that these practices were part of an effort to suppress streetwalking prostitution in the West Hollywood area of Los Angeles.

Appellants did not allege or contend that the public nuisance statute was unconstitutional. ⁴ Their allegation was that the Sheriff has promulgated guidelines and engaged in practices in enforcing the sections against prostitutes which constitute violations of the prostitutes' constitutional rights.

Respondent filed a general denial of the allegations of the complaint about June 3, 1983.

On November 19, 1984, appellants filed a Motion for Summary Judgment and/or Summary Adjudication of Issues Without Substantial Controversy under Code of Civil Procedure section 437c, against all the defendants. In support of this motion appellants filed declarations and depositions. In response, respondent filed objections to evidence, certain declarations, and a statement in opposition as well as respondent's own motion for summary judgment. The other defendants, the City Attorney and Chief of Police of the City of Los Angeles, filed similar motions. All of the motions were heard together on March 12, 1985.

At the hearing of March 12, 1985, the objections of the respondent to certain of plaintiffs' declarations and to some of plaintiffs' evidence were sustained. The declarations of Goodbred, Stamler and Burton, filed by plaintiffs, were stricken because of defective jurats.

A stipulation was entered into between plaintiffs and respondent. ⁵ The stipulation was part of plaintiffs'-appellants' written opposition to defendant's motions for summary judgment, and stated:

"For the purpose of this Motion for Summary Judgment, plaintiffs accept Defendant Block's Summary of Uncontested Facts As To Sheriff, found on pp. 9-10 of Defendant Sheriff Sherman Block's Separate Statement Responding to Plaintiffs' Contended Statement of Undisputed Facts. For the purpose of this Motion for Summary Judgment, plaintiffs agree that:

"Under the guidelines established in conjunction with the District Attorney's Office, members of the West Hollywood Problems Unit detain and warn individuals who cause motorists to stop in traffic lanes or restricted areas thereby obstructing the free flow of vehicular traffic. Any person who repeats this offense after being warned, is liable for arrest pursuant to P.C. § 372 as a public nuisance. The motorist who stops is issued a citation and questioned as to why he stopped. Sheriffs deputies arrested 18 persons in the Hollywood area in 1984 for violation of P.C. § 372."

The statement accepted by plaintiffs-appellants read as follows:

"1. Arrests by the Sheriff of the County of Los Angeles for the period 1982 through October 1984 in West Hollywood for violation of Penal Code §§ 370, 372, are as follows:

"1982--2 arrests, both of which resulted in convictions.

"1983--0 arrest.

"1984 (through October) 18 arrests, disposition not known.

"2. Arrests by the Sheriff's Department in West Hollywood for violation of Penal Code §§ 370, 372, are made pursuant to guidelines which, inter alia, limit arrests to situations where persons who have been warned at least once that their actions are in violation of § 372, continue to do acts which obstruct the free flow of traffic by causing cars to stop in lanes of traffic or in restricted areas.

"3. Some persons engage in the business of prostitution on the streets and sidewalks in the West Hollywood area.

"4. The business of prostitution is unlawful in California.

"5. Some persons who engage in the business of prostitution in West Hollywood attempt to solicit potential customers by waving or hailing cars to stop or pull over for the purpose of negotiations.

"6. The actions described in No. 5 cause some cars to stop in traffic lanes or in restricted areas obstructing the free passage or use, in the customary manner, of public streets."

Respondent's most significant evidence was a declaration by Michael Quinn, a Lieutenant in the Sheriff's Department. The declaration states:

"DECLARATION OF MICHAEL QUINN

"I, Michael Quinn, do declare under penalty of perjury:

"1. I am a Deputy Sheriff for the County of Los Angeles of the rank of Lieutenant, currently assigned to West Hollywood Sheriff's Station. I am currently serving as the Operations Lieutenant. As such, I am responsible, among other things, for developing station procedures, the efficient and effective deployment of our patrol force, for liaison with the District Attorney and the courts, and I am the supervisor of the Station's Special Problems Unit.

"2. The Special Problems Unit is designed to deal with specific problems in our patrol area. Current problems which this unit is concerned with include high concentrations of narcotics use and sales, prostitution, related crimes, and unusual traffic on the area's two man thoroughfares, Santa Monica Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard. Traffic congestion on these two thoroughfares is a particular problem due to the fact that no freeway crosses through our police jurisdiction, and these two streets are the primary roads used to connect the Westside with downtown Los Angeles. The traffic is at its worst generally from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily due to the business and entertainment establishments in this area.

"3. The practices of prostitutes and others of hailing cars to the side of the street and delaying them and other traffic causes a particular problem in our area. Parking is at a premium on the two main thoroughfares. These practices result in cars double parking, stopping in red zones and bus zones, blocking driveways, and even stopping in lanes of traffic. The result is an exacerbation of already difficult problems, and an interference with our ability to utilize these street for emergency purposes.

"4. Although this station virtually ceased to make arrests for violation of Penal Code section 372 to deal with these problems of obstructing the free passage or use of streets, the continuing problems caused us to reevaluate use of that section in 1984. To determine if we could use this section to deal with these problems, I and others met with Deputy District Attorney Marsha Revel, Head Deputy, Beverly Hills Municipal Court, the Court serving our area.

"5. As a result of those meetings, Deputy District Attorney Marsha Revel approved the following guidelines to be used in Penal Code Section 372 arrests which are believed to be not only legal but prosecutable.

"Marsha Revel indicated that Section 372 should not be used in any "sweep" type enforcement, and that arrests should generally be used only in the following circumstances:

"1. That only members of West Hollywood Special Problems Unit utilize Section 372 P.C.

"2. That enforcement primarily be directed toward individuals who cause motorists to stop in traffic lanes or restricted areas thereby obstructing the free flow of vehicular traffic.

"3. That the motorist stopping be issued a citation for the appropriate Vehicle Code section, and questioned as to why he stopped, i.e. buy flowers, talk to pedestrian, etc.

"4. That the person or persons causing the motorist to stop be verbally admonished and some type of written record of the warning be kept for utilization and reference on subsequent occasions.

"5. If the person or persons warned repeat...