By Melissa Lim
With homelessness increasing across the country and shelter space staying the same, many cities now target the homeless population with increasingly stringent laws about where they can sleep or congregate.
But South Tucson Presiding Judge Ronald Wilson believes that the courts should not contribute to the problem.
“In this economy, where you have so much unemployment, when you have so much homelessness, you have people that are really down and out, it’s important for all of the institutions to really look at how we can be part of the solution, and not part of the problem,” he said.
More than 3 million people in the U.S. each year experience homelessness, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP). Millions more are at risk for homelessness.
From 2007 to 2008 there was a 12 percent increase in homelessness and experts predict that, with the lingering economic crisis, the numbers will skyrocket.
Though almost half of the homeless population are employed, according to the NLCHP, they don’t earn enough to pay for housing, leaving them on the streets.
In Tucson, there are laws prohibiting begging, camping, sleeping and sitting or lying in particular public places, as well as laws closing off certain public areas to the homeless.
Penalties for violating these types of laws range nationwide from citations to misdemeanors to more serious criminal penalties. If defendants fail to appear in court or pay their fines, warrants are often issued for their arrest.
South Tucson is also attempting to minimize the wasteful cost of criminalizing the homeless. According to a 2004 Levin Group survey of nine cities that compared jail costs to emergency shelter or permanent housing costs, jail time can cost two to three times more.
In South Tucson, the costs of jailing someone for nonpayment of fines ranges from $700 to $800 a day, according to Wilson.
“If you’re homeless and you don’t have a job or a place to live or other co-occurring issues and you don’t have any money, what good do you think it’d be if the prosecution or court decides to fine the person?” Wilson asks.
He goes on to explain that courts often have difficulty finding the defendants, and even if those defendants are found, they often cannot pay. If the defendant cannot pay a fine, there are late fees added and warrants are often put out, resulting in jail time for the defendants once they are found.
Wilson said he believes that the harsh laws add to a negative image of the legal system.
“For too long, poor people, minorities and those that are down and out have viewed judges and prosecutors negatively,” Wilson said. “Because of this, they don’t come to court or they don’t expect to be treated with dignity, with integrity and fairly and impartially.”
But for Judge Wilson, that’s not the way defendants should see the justice system as a whole.
“We’ll do what we need to do to be part of the solution,” Wilson said about his court. “We don’t want them to be part of the shadows. There’s nothing to fear: we’re going to be merciful and compassionate.”
For South Tucson, that includes working with agencies such as the Gospel Rescue Mission to bring defendants in to deal with their pending court dates. This works hand in hand with the Gospel Rescue Mission’s program to help the homeless, which includes a step that requires clients deal with prior legal issues. The Mission also provides homeless defendants with an advocate to assist them in dealing with legal issues.
In addition, South Tucson courts are expanding punishment beyond fines and jail time. Wilson said he often uses community service and counseling as methods to not only redress the wrong done to society, but to help the defendant.
“When we don’t allow people the opportunity to move forward with their lives and become productive members of society, we’re putting them in a situation when they see no hope,” Wilson said. “And when you become hopeless, you become desperate. Then desperate becomes dangerous.”
With the new system that the South Tucson court is trying, things are turning around, said Roy Tullgren, executive director of the Gospel Rescue Mission. He said many of the homeless defendants they take to court receive reduced fines or community service instead of a fine, which helps to reduce the financial burden they have to carry when searching for a job.
“We found it to be very successful for those who’ve gone to court,” he said. “Judge Wilson has a real heart and understanding for people who’ve made bad choices and mistakes, but they’re serious about trying to get back in line and on track.”
