COSTA MESA : Judge Dismisses Suit Over Daywork Law
A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed on behalf of two Costa Mesa men who are challenging the constitutionality of a provision of the city’s dayworker ordinance.
U.S. District Judge J. Spencer Letts agreed with the city’s attorney that he had no jurisdiction to make a ruling on the constitutionality question while a similar challenge is proceeding in state court.
The state case involves a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union that seeks to stop enforcement of the part of the ordinance that bans people from being in certain areas of the city with the “intent” to solicit work.
The ACLU contends that the provision is vague and violates freedoms of speech and assembly guaranteed under the First Amendment.
Attorney Cathy Jensen had sued the city in federal court on the same grounds.
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