Dec. 17, 2025
Criminalizing homelessness in Fresno? Lawsuit claims city's ordinance punishes poverty
A constitutional challenge in Fresno raises an issue faced by cities across the country: Whether municipalities can lawfully criminalize homelessness in the absence of viable alternatives to outdoor living.
K. Chike Odiwe
Civil Rights Attorney
The Law Offices of Kenneth C. Odiwe, PC
2880 Zanker Road, Ste 203
San Jose , CA 95134
Fax: (669) 315-4431
A class action lawsuit now pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California asks a question that cities across the country continue to confront: Can a municipality respond to visible homelessness by arresting people for existing in public space when it lacks the capacity to offer them a real alternative? In Fresno, that question has sharpened into a constitutional challenge th...
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