Garcia
Garcia v. County of Alameda
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
JOSE ANTONIO GARCIA,
Case No. 24-cv-03997-RS Plaintiff, 6 v. ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION COUNTY OF ALAMEDA, et al., 8 Defendants.
10 I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Jose Antonio Garcia, also known as Jose Fermoso (“Fermoso”), is a reporter for The Oaklandside who regularly covers sideshows—events where reckless drivers entertain crowds with dangerous stunts on public streets. By their nature, sideshows pose a significant threat to public safety. In the Bay Area, they sometimes also involve gun violence, substance use, looting, and arson. To deter them from happening, defendant Alameda County adopted a local ordinance which criminalizes participating in sideshows as a spectator. Fermoso subsequently brought a First Amendment challenge against the County and its sheriff, defendant Yesenia Sanchez (collectively, the “County”), seeking injunctive relief, a declaration that the…