http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lapd-car-impound-20130923,0,1710839.story
Judge refuses to relent on LAPD car impound policy
A judge Monday said he would not set aside his recent
decision to strike down the Los
Angeles Police Department's controversial car impound
policy, throwing the question of when cops can impound
vehicles of unlicensed drivers into further uncertainty.
Last month, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Terry Green announced in court that he had concluded the
LAPD's impound policy violates state law.
Green's finding came in a lawsuit brought against the
city and LAPD by the Police Protective League, the union that
represents rank-and-file Los Angeles cops.
City and police officials, along with a group of civil
rights and immigration advocacy organizations that support the
impound rules, announced plans to appeal the ruling and asked
Green to table his decision until a state appeals court could
rule on the case.
Green's refusal to do so means the defenders of the
impound policy now must look to the appeals court to issue a
stay of the judge's ruling, said Michael Kaufman, an attorney
for the American
Civil Liberties Union, which is part of the lawsuit.
If that request is denied, Kaufman said, the LAPD would
have no choice but to toss out its current impound rules, at
least until the outcome of the appeal -- a process that could
take several months.
"There are real concerns about what will happen in the
coming weeks and months if Special Order 7 is suspended," said
Kaufman, referring to the directive from LAPD Chief Charlie
Beck that put the new impound rules in place.
Under the terms of the order, officers are expected to
continue impounding cars when they discover a person driving
without a valid license. But unlike the LAPD's previous
policy, the order bars officers from imposing a 30-day hold on
a vehicle when a driver meets several criteria -- including
having auto insurance, valid identification and no previous
citations for unlicensed driving.
Officers were also told to forgo impounding a vehicle in cases in which a licensed driver is in the car or able to arrive "immediately."
The new rules were needed to give officers a clear understanding on how to apply two somewhat vague sections of the state vehicle code that deal with impounds, Beck and others have argued.
Officers were also told to forgo impounding a vehicle in cases in which a licensed driver is in the car or able to arrive "immediately."
The new rules were needed to give officers a clear understanding on how to apply two somewhat vague sections of the state vehicle code that deal with impounds, Beck and others have argued.
Union officials countered in their lawsuit that the
impound rules illegally stripped officers of the discretion
granted to them in the state laws to decide in some cases when
to impose the more harsh 30-day hold on a car.
“We are pleased with the ruling today,” said the
union's president, Tyler Izen. “LAPD officers were caught in
the middle of a legal controversy over whether they were
vested with the authority to impound vehicles driven by
unlicensed drivers as required by the State Vehicle Code, or
follow LAPD Special Order No. 7."
Beck has presented the issue as a matter of fairness
and public safety. The loss of a car for a month and the fees
and fines that can run over $1,000 to retrieve it,
disproportionately affects the 400,000 immigrants estimated to
be in the country illegally and living in L.A., since they
cannot legally obtain driver's licenses, Beck said. Under
Special Order 7, he said, unlicensed drivers would be
motivated to take responsible steps such as buying insurance.
Beck on Monday declined to comment on Green's refusal
to set his ruling aside, saying he hadn't yet been brought up
to speed by city attorneys. He reiterated his belief that the
department thoroughly vetted the legality of the impound rules
before they went into effect.
Through a spokesman, City Atty. Mike Feuer declined to
comment on Green's decision today.
Green has not yet issued a formal, written
judgment in the case but is expected to do so in coming
days, Kaufman said. Once he does so, attorneys can submit
their request for a stay with the appeals court, which would
probably take several weeks before making a decision. During
that time, Kaufman said, he was hopeful the appeals court
would keep Special Order 7 in effect.
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