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Office of the City Attorney

Attorney News

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Sacramento City Attorneys share their expertise on homelessness issues at the League of California Cities’ annual conference.

Senior Deputy City Attorneys Emilio Camacho, Aaron Israel and Beau Parkhurst presented on homelessness issues to hundreds of municipal leaders from all over the state at the League of California Cities’ Annual conference. The main topics included an update on the legal framework, a discussion on balancing public health, enforcement and municipal resources, and a case study on outreach efforts and collaboration with the county to offer shelter and services. The presentation was well-received, and the presenters were thanked for sharing their knowledge and expertise.

City Attorney's Office participates in Kid's Law Day 2023

Kid’s Law Day was a volunteer event organized by the Sacramento County Bar Association on April 14th, 2023. The event consisted of timeslots where local judges, attorneys, paralegals, and legal secretaries could volunteer their time to conduct presentations about legal practice at Sacramento area schools. Each volunteer was assigned to a separate classroom at one of the many elementary schools within Sacramento. As part of their shift, volunteers were responsible for conducting a presentation about themselves, their journey to becoming a legal professional, their office or firm, and the importance of legal practice generally. Additionally, the volunteers lead a classroom skit in which the students acted out a mock trial.

Kate Brosseau, a Deputy City Attorney, was one of several volunteers at the event last Friday at Pacific Elementary School. Regarding her experience, she commented that the experience was rewarding and worthwhile, particularly because the students who participated in the event were enthusiastic and eager to learn about what it takes to work in the legal field. The students in Ms. Brosseau’s assigned classroom came prepared with a variety of questions about law school, legal practice, and her time at the City Attorney’s Office. The students remained engaged and had a great time pretending to be in court during the skit. In light of the warm reception she received, and the positive engagement by the participating students and other volunteers, Ms. Brosseau noted that this event was an important and worthy volunteer experience for everyone involved.

City defeats first amendement challenge to spectating ordinance

The City Attorney’s office recently defeated a facial constitutional challenge to the City’s Street Race Spectating Ordinance, which prohibits being a spectator at a street racing event. A defendant charged under the City’s Street Race Spectating Ordinance filed a Demurrer to the action, alleging that the Ordinance was facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment Overbreadth Doctrine, primarily as an infringement upon freedom of association. Deputy City Attorney Brittany Brace, mentored by Deputy City Attorney Kevin Kundinger, argued: 1) that there is no First Amendment right to assemble for the purposes of spectating at illegal activities and 2) the dangerous nature of these activities makes the Ordinance a reasonable exercise of the City’s police power to protect public health and welfare. The Honorable Thadd Blizzard, who agreed with the City, overruled the Defendant’s Demurrer and upheld the Ordinance as constitutional.

Volunteer efforts keep the Municipal Law Handbook updated

Each year, CalCities (formerly known as The League of California Cities) publishes an updated version of The Municipal Law Handbook, which is the go-to legal reference book for California lawyers advising local governments. The annual update is made possible by the voluntary contributions of scores of reviewers, led by the Editorial Committee and CalCities staff. Each member of the Editorial Committee is responsible for a particular chapter, ensuring that its summary and citation to the law is accurate and up to date.

For the next two years, Assistant City Attorney Matthew Ruyak will be the chapter chair for Chapter 9 (Regulating Businesses and Personal Conduct). This follows Mr. Ruyak’s position as chapter chair for Chapter 3 (Elections) for the 2021 and 2022 editions of the book. During that past two-year period, he was joined by Senior Deputy City Attorney Emilio Camacho, who was the previous chapter chair for Chapter 9.

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Sacramento City Attorney’s Office Justice for Neighbor's Program instrumental in home donation to Habitat for Humanity

As the result of successful litigation regarding an unlawful cannabis grow house, the City Attorney's Office, through the Justice for Neighbors program, was instrumental in having the home donated to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento. Habitat selected a family to become the home's owner, and through generous community donations and the hard work of volunteer labor (including that of the chosen family), the home was completely remodeled and returned to safe and clean housing in the City of Sacramento.

Sacramento Regional Diversity Career Fair

The City Attorney’s Office is a regular participant in the annual Sacramento Region Diversity Career Fair which helps promote diversity in the legal profession. The fair is held at the University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. It is co-hosted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, the University of California, Davis School of Law, and the Federal Bar Association Sacramento Chapter.

California Association of Code Enforcement Officers

On November 7, 2023, Brittany Brace presented at the California Association of Code Enforcement Officers (CACEO) Conference in Monterey. In her presentation, Brittany discussed the litigation that has been brought against the City’s cannabis enforcement program, and how it has changed the City’s current cannabis practices with a return to more traditional code enforcement. Among the specific subjects discussed were de novo appeals of administrative cannabis penalties pursuant to Government Code section 53069.4, as well as the legality of strict liability for cannabis violations pursuant to the City Code.

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