Overview:
What was meant to be the first trial of a homeless resident fighting the city’s anti-encampment ordinance in court Thursday ended up, instead, as a quick procedural matter — as Fresno Superior Court Judge Brian Alvarez dismissed the case entirely.
The judge dismissed the city’s case against defendant Wickey Two Hands, saying the city violated Two Hands' right to a speedy trial.
Cheers could be heard in and out of the courtroom Thursday after a Fresno County judge tossed out a potentially precedent-setting trial for local homeless law.
Fresno Superior Court Judge Brian Alvarez dismissed the case of The People of The State Of California vs Wickey Two Hands, concluding that the city violated Two Hands’ right to a speedy trial.
Two Hands was arrested in October for allegedly violating the Fresno’s anti-encampment ordinance, as well as the illegal possession of a shopping cart. Alvarez noted the case should have been heard by March 6, with today’s date being more than a month past the deadline.
“It’s a pretty good day in my life,” said Two Hands after the trial was dismissed. Two Hands was greeted by about 20 advocates for the unhoused, who came to support him in court.
Kevin Little, Two Hands’ attorney, said he was happy to see his client overcome this “extremely stressful experience.” Still, Little acknowledged he was a bit disappointed to have the case dismissed on a technicality, robbing him of a chance to dispute the ordinance on legal grounds.
“Sooner or later, if the city insists on taking these cases to trial, we’ll have our day in court,” Little said. “On the other hand, if the city is never going to actually seek to take these cases to trial, then that just begs the question: Why do we have this stupid ordinance in the first place?”
Little has also been mounting a case against the ordinance itself. Like other critics of the ordinance, he’s argued that the law criminalizes the homeless.
“It criminalizes people’s existence,” Little said. “It sends people into hiding.”
Dez Martinez, one of the advocates who came to show her support for Two Hands, helped lead the celebration after the case’s dismissal.
“I can’t say thank you enough,” Martinez said. “It’s my 10 year anniversary as an advocate today, so this is the best gift I can get!”
Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz issued a statement following the ruling, saying he respected the judge’s decision but disagreed with it.
“Our office has immense respect for Judge Alvarez but disagree with his ruling to dismiss the case,” Janz said in the prepared statement. “This outcome is unfortunate because we identified housing for the defendant as part of a proposed plea deal and he will now likely end up back on our streets without a structured plea deal in place. We hope that Mr. Two Hands takes advantage of these services being offered.”
In response, Little continued to say the city should not try and criminalize homelessness.
“This is a social problem that should not be criminalized,” Little said in a statement over text. “Prosecuting attorneys and police officers are poorly equipped to assist the Unhoused. But yet that’s where the majority of the funds are going.”
The City Attorney’s Office said prosecutors on Thursday had yet to decide whether they would seek any kind of appeal in connection with the Two Hands case.
Fresno City Attorney subpoenas journalists
The Fresno city attorney’s office attempted to subpoena at least two journalists — including a Fresnoland reporter — to testify for the prosecution.
In the days leading up to the trial, prosecutors attempted, and failed, to serve subpoenas on Fresnoland’s Pablo Orihuela and Thaddeus Miller of The Fresno Bee. City prosecutors ultimately served Orihuela inside the courtroom on Thursday, over the objections of Fresnoland’s legal counsel – Fresno-based attorney Patience Milrod and the First Amendment Coalition’s David Loy.
Fresnoland was prepared to object and argue against the subpoena, citing reporter shield law protections.
“I was honored to stand up for press freedom and independence by objecting to the city’s subpoena,” Loy said after the judge handed down his ruling Thursday. “Reporters can’t do their job effectively if they’re forced to testify for the government.”
“The public has a right to gutsy, truth-telling journalism” Milrod said. “It was a privilege and a pleasure to help Fresnoland defend reporters’ essential role in our democracy.”
Little called the move “a very unfortunate tactic.”
“One of the fundamental aspects of our freedoms in the United States is the freedom of the press to gather and disseminate information,” Little said, “so anything that even is suggestive of intimidation of the media, involving the media in legal disputes as a witness when they were acting in their capacities as reporters, is a very dangerous precedent.”
Life for Two Hands now
Dez Martinez, a local advocate for the homeless, announced at a media scrum following the trial that Two Hands was on his way to a home through a housing voucher. The voucher, she said, would likely take six months to come through, meaning he would still need temporary housing solutions until then.
But Two Hands, who has been homeless for about five years now, said he’d take it. He also extended his appreciation for the crowd that came to support him in court today.
“I think we all appreciate a reminder that we’re not alone in this world, and that people support us,” Little said. “So if nothing else, I think that Wickey knows now he’s supported.”
Kevin Little ended his media scrum by drawing attention to SB634 – a state bill that, if passed, could essentially void the city’s anti-camping law.
The bill, authored by Democratic state Senator Sasha Renee Perez, would stop local jurisdictions from adopting or enforcing local ordinances that “imposes civil or criminal penalties on a person who is homeless for any act immediately related to homelessness or any act related to basic survival, or on a person who is assisting a person who is homeless with any act related to basic survival.”
In Little’s eyes, it’s as sure a sign as any that the local anti-camp laws days are numbered.
“Hopefully the (Fresno) City Council sees the writing on the wall,” Little said. “The state bill is coming. It’s undoubtedly going to be passed. It very likely is going to be passed and enacted before the summer. So if you see the writing on the wall and you see that you’re not really even prepared to prosecute these cases, then abolish this law.
“Let’s engage in teamwork to address the problem of homelessness,” Little added, “rather than adversarial prosecutorial modes. That’s not the solution that just results in an expenditure of money with no benefit to anybody.”
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