Drake

The plaintiffs-five homeless people and an advocacy group called "Homeless Action!"-seek a temporary restraining order blocking the government from closing the Roseland encampments in Santa Rosa. They contend, among other things, that enforcement of Santa Rosa's anti-camping ordinance and provisions of the California Penal Code to remove residents from the encampments violates the Eighth Amendment (among other constitutional and statutory provisions) by punishing them for their homeless status. The Court held an evidentiary hearing on April 5, 2018, taking testimony from residents of the encampments and relevant government officials.

A plaintiff seeking a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction "must establish that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest." Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. , 555 U.S. 7 , 20, 129 S.Ct. 365 , 172 L.Ed.2d 249 (2008) ; Kwong v. Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office , No. 17-CV-02127-BLF, 2017 WL 1374794 , at *1 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 17, 2017). If a…