Barbara Scott, Sui Juris c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 Tucson, Arizona Republic Postal Code 85719/tdc tel: (520) 624-7220 fax: (520) 323-3922 In Propria Persona IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA People of the Arizona Republic ) No. CIV-96-150-TUC-WDB ) Ex Relatione Barbara Scott, Sui Juris,) NOTICE AND PETITION FOR ) Plaintiffs ) TEMPORARY INJUNCTION ) v. ) FOR VIOLATIONS OF ) City of Tucson, Arizona, ) FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS ) Defendant ) ______________________________________) COME NOW the People of the Arizona Republic, Ex Relatione Barbara Scott, Sui Juris, Citizen of Arizona, appearing In Propria Persona, to present this First Amendment Petition for a temporary injunction against the City of Tucson, Arizona state, for redress of its violations of fundamental human rights, and to provide notice to all interested parties of the same. The City of Tucson has ordered the removal of so-called "homeless" People from public property which is situated within the municipal jurisdiction of the City of Tucson and which is currently utilized by transient Americans who are destitute and disabled by reason of their poverty. See City of Tucson, Administrative Action Report and Summary, Agenda Item 15, Council Action SS/March4-96-102, dated March 4, 1996 (attached hereto as Exhibit "A"). As a political subdivision of the State of Arizona, the City of Tucson is under an explicit Congressional mandate: (1) to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities, (2) to provide clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing discrimination against individuals with disabilities, (3) to enforce the standards established on behalf of individuals with disabilities, and (4) to address the major areas of discrimination faced day-to- day by People with disabilities. See Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., Act July 26, 1990, P.L. 101-336, 104 Stat. 327. Moreover, the City of Tucson is bound to prevent and to eliminate discrimination against People on account of their poverty by virtue of two international Treaties to which the United States is a party and which have become the supreme Law of Our Land under the Supremacy Clause in the Constitution for the United States of America, as lawfully amended, to wit: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, now codified in Title 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., Congress made the following findings which are painfully descriptive of, and immediately relevant to, the day-to-day problems now being faced by the homeless People who are threatened with forced removal by the City of Tucson: 1. some 43,000,000 Americans have one or more physical or mental disabilities, and this number is increasing as the population as a whole is growing older; indeed, there is not a single American who is not getting older by the minute; 2. historically, society has tended to isolate and segregate individuals with disabilities, and, despite some improvements, such forms of discrimination against individuals with disabilities continue to be a serious and pervasive social problem; 3. discrimination against individuals with disabilities persists in such critical areas as employment, housing, public accommodations, education, transportation, communication, recreation, institutionalization, health services, voting, and access to public services; 4. unlike individuals who have experienced discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, or age, individuals who have experienced discrimination on the basis of disability have often had no legal recourse to redress such discrimination; 5. individuals with disabilities continually encounter various forms of discrimination, including outright intentional exclusion, the discriminatory effects of architectural, transportation, and communications barriers, overprotective rules and policies, failure to make modifications to existing facilities and practices, exclusionary qualification standards and criteria, segregation, and relegation to lesser services, programs, activities, benefits, jobs, or other opportunities; 6. census data, national polls, and other studies have documented that People with disabilities, as a group, occupy an inferior status in our society, and are severely disadvantaged socially, vocationally, economically, and educationally; 7. individuals with disabilities are a discrete and insular minority who have been faced with restrictions and limitations, subjected to a history of purposeful unequal treatment, and relegated to a position of political powerlessness in our society, based on characteristics that are beyond the control of such individuals and resulting from stereotypic assumptions not truly indicative of the individual ability of such individuals to participate in, and contribute to, society; 8. the Nation's proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self- sufficiency for such individuals; 9. the continuing existence of unfair and unnecessary discrimination and prejudice denies People with disabilities the opportunity to compete on an equal basis and to pursue those opportunities for which our free society is justifiably famous, and costs the United States billions of dollars in unnecessary expenses resulting from dependency and nonproductivity. [emphasis added] Plaintiffs argue that poverty is a disability; so is being homeless ("housing impaired"). Plaintiffs hereby challenge the City of Tucson to show cause why their order to remove homeless People from public property located within the municipal jurisdiction of the City of Tucson does not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, numerous provisions of the Constitution for the United States of America as lawfully amended, and two international human Rights Treaties to which the United States is a party and which bind the City of Tucson under authority of the Supremacy Clause, which elevates Treaties to the status of supreme Law of Our Land. PRAYER Wherefore, Plaintiffs respectfully request that an immediate temporary injunction issue from this honorable Court, restraining the City of Tucson from executing its administrative decision to remove homeless People from public property situated within the municipal jurisdiction of the City of Tucson, until such time as the City of Tucson can show cause why its order does not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, several provisions in the Constitution for the United States of America, as lawfully amended, and two international human Rights treaties to which the United States is party and which are supreme Law of Our Land by virtue of the Supremacy Clause. Dated: March 8, 1996 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Barbara Scott Barbara Scott, Sui Juris In Propria Persona and Ex Relatione The People of the Arizona Republic PROOF OF SERVICE I, Paul Andrew, Mitchell, Sui Juris, hereby certify that I am at least 18 years of age, a Citizen of one of the United States of America by birth and by blood, and not a party to the action in the above entitled case. I served the following document(s): NOTICE AND PETITION FOR TEMPORARY INJUNCTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS by placing one copy of each in first-class U.S. Mail, with postage prepaid and properly addressed to the recipient(s), as follows: City Attorney City of Tucson 255 West Alameda Tucson, Arizona 85701 Date of Service: Friday, March 8,1996. /s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell Paul Andrew, Mitchell, Sui Juris Citizen of one of the United States of America on behalf of the People of the Arizona Republic all rights reserved without prejudice # # #
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People v. Tucson