The Southern Legal Counsel, ACLU of Florida, and pro bono attorney Andy Pozzuto filed a federal class action lawsuit against the city of Ocala on behalf of named plaintiffs Patrick McCardle, Courtney Ramsey, Anthony Cummings and more than 200 other similarly situated homeless persons who have been arrested for sleeping or resting on sidewalks and other outdoor areas.
One plaintiff has spent 148 nights in jail and been assessed a total of $3,690.50 in fines and court costs imposed for 10 counts of open lodging, according to the complaint.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the lawsuit challenges the city’s use of police practices and arrests under unconstitutional ordinances and policies to criminalize people experiencing homelessness for engaging in necessary, life-sustaining conduct essential to survival.
