THOMAS A. SAENZ ARGUES BEFORE THE NINTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS ON BEHALF OF DAY LABORERS IN REDONDO BEACH
On Monday March 21, Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF President and General Counsel, argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of day laborers in the Redondo Beach area. The case, Comité de Jornaleros de Redondo Beach v. City of Redondo Beach, California, was heard before an 11-judge, special en banc proceedings, called after a divided three-judge panel last June upheld the City’s anti-day laborer ordinance.
Saenz argued that the ordinance unlawfully violated the right to free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As written the ordinance unlawfully regulates speech in a public forum, targets a particular group of workers, is insufficiently limited in scope and unlawfully regulates content. Further, Saenz argued that the City's purported justification for the ordinance – to prevent interference with traffic flow – can be addressed with currently enacted laws.
MALDEF awaits the court's ruling, which will be issued at a later date.
Thomas A. Saenz’s argument before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is available here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgaXLXTzva0&feature=player_embedded#at=1726
Press coverage of the hearing can be found at the Daily Breeze and the Easy Reader News.
For all media inquiries, please contact Laura Rodriguez.
