June 2012 Vol. 12, Issue 2
Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker 
News from the Oakland City Attorney's Office
In This Issue:
City Attorney shuts down two prostitution hotels, joins legal battle to preserve local medical cannabis laws
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BJP


I am delighted to report an outstanding result in our fight against two hotels that have been centers of prostitution and the sexual exploitation of children in our community.

 

These hotels, the Economy Inn on East 12th Street and the National Lodge on International Boulevard, have for decades allowed and profited from prostitution and human trafficking in Oakland. My office sued the hotels in 2010. Last month, a Superior Court judge issued tentative rulings shutting down both hotels for a year - the maximum amount of time allowed by state law. The judge also ordered the owners to pay the costs of the City Attorney's prosecution and the Police Department's investigation, as well as significant fines to the city.

 

Shutting these hotels will make a tremendous difference for families and businesses in the neighborhood. The hotels have helped to further an industry in which horrific crimes against women and girls are routine. They have been magnets not only for prostitution, but for rapes, kidnappings, shootings and other violent crimes. I hope the closure will give the owners time to come up with a business plan that doesn't rely on prostitution as a major source of revenue. While they are closed, the court will appoint a receiver to make sure the properties don't become a blight.

 

I want to thank the neighbors, Oakland police officers and community advocates, especially the East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC), who partnered with my office on this case. Their work, persistence and testimony in court were critical.

 

Taking action to address prostitution and other threats to public safety is a top priority for my office. Kids in our community should not have to walk through a gauntlet of prostitution and harassment every time they leave the house. These lawsuits should send a clear message: we will not allow businesses to make a living from the abuse and exploitation of women and girls in our community.   

 

For more on these cases, you can watch this TV news coverage or go to our web site: www.oaklandcityattorney.org. I will update you about future actions by my office, and as always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

 

Very truly yours,

 

Barbara Parker

Oakland City Attorney

Also in this edition: Oakland joins legal battle to preserve local cannabis laws
 

OAKLAND, CA - Oakland has joined a pivotal legal battle to defend the right of local governments to authorize and regulate medical cannabis dispensaries.

 

On June 15, City Attorney Barbara Parker, on behalf of the City of Oakland, joined an amicus brief with other California cities and counties asking the state Supreme Court to reverse the lower court's decision in Pack v. City of Long Beach, which threatens to invalidate Oakland's groundbreaking, model medical cannabis dispensary program. The brief argues that local governments have a clear legal right to regulate and permit medical cannabis dispensaries, and that those regulations are not preempted by federal drug laws.

 

In 2004, Oakland adopted an ordinance permitting medical cannabis dispensaries, which reduced the number of dispensaries from approximately 20 to four. The ordinance allows the City to limit the number of dispensaries, require operator background checks, conduct financial and operational audits and engage in other necessary oversight to assure that dispensaries provide safe and affordable medical cannabis in compliance with City laws and regulations that are designed to protect public safety and prevent nuisance or criminal enterprises. In 2011, the City amended this ordinance and increased the number of permitted dispensaries to eight.

 

"If the state Supreme Court allows the lower court's ruling in Pack v. City of Long Beach to stand, local governments may lose the ability to regulate dispensaries to assure that patients have access to safe and affordable medical cannabis. This was the promise of California's Compassionate Use Act, which a majority of Californians passed in 1996," City Attorney Parker said. "What's at stake in this case is much more than just Long Beach's ordinance. If the court prohibits local medical cannabis regulations, it will effectively cut the heart out of the 1996 Compassionate Use Act."

 

Parker also thanked Tehama County Counsel Arthur Wylene for drafting the brief, as well as Arcata City Attorney Nancy Diamond and other signatories.

 

"The voters of California overwhelmingly support the safe, legal access to medical cannabis," City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan said. "Local oversight and control of permitted facilities ensures that this voter mandate is accomplished responsibly. Strong local regulation that provides permits - and oversight - for medical cannabis facilities is the best way to protect patients and guarantee public safety."

 

In 2010, the City of Long Beach adopted an ordinance similar to Oakland's to comprehensively regulate medical marijuana collectives within the city. Two applicants who were denied permits in Long Beach and ordered to shut down store front dispensaries sued, asserting that the Long Beach ordinance was illegal and preempted by federal law. In October 2011, the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal ruled for the plaintiffs and struck down Long Beach's ordinance, holding it was preempted by federal Controlled Substances Act, which does not permit the distribution or sale of any cannabis. The City of Long Beach has appealed the Pack decision to the California Supreme Court and it has been certified for review (Supreme Court case No. S197169).

 

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