May 18, 2012 | Case

Sturgeon v. City of Los Angeles (No. BC484190)

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced that it filed a taxpayer lawsuit yesterday against the Los Angeles Police Department, Police Chief Charlie Beck and members of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners over Special Order 7, a new policy that seeks to regulate the impounding of vehicles driven by unlicensed drivers (Harold P. Sturgeon v. City of Los Angeles et. al (No. BC484190)).  Under Special Order 7, police officers will no longer immediately impound the vehicles of unlicensed drivers for 30 days, as long as they meet certain conditions.  The policy change was made to specifically help unlicensed illegal aliens.

Judicial Watch’s lawsuit, filed May 8, 2012, in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of Los Angeles, seeks to stop the use of taxpayer funds to implement the new policy:

Plaintiff, a taxpayer and resident of the City of Los Angeles, seeks to enjoin Defendants from expending taxpayer funds or taxpayer-financed resources to implement, enforce, maintain, or otherwise carry out the provisions of Special Order 7, which was issued by the Los Angeles Police Department (“LAPD”) on April 10, 2012 and which became effective on April 22, 2012. Plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment that Special Order 7 is preempted by article XI, section 7 of the California Constitution and California Vehicle Code § 21, and therefore is unlawful and void.