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| High Court Rules It's OK to Evict Granny |
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Posted by FoM on March 29, 2002 at 12:22:47 PT By Dan Evans of The Examiner Staff Source: San Francisco Examiner 
Compassionate conservatism it's not. In what looks like a made-for-TV tragedy, Pearlie Rucker may be on the street for the sins of her child.The Supreme Court decided unanimously Tuesday to uphold a law used to boot the 64-year-old resident from her Oakland housing project after her mentally disabled daughter was found with cocaine a quarter-mile away from the house. Three other public housing residents, Willie Lee, Barbara Hill and Herman Walker, also got caught in a similar mix of bad luck and bureaucracy. As an upshot, the four low-income senior citizens are inching ever closer to homelessness. The policy originally was developed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It allows for the eviction of tenants if they, or others in the house, are caught engaging in a crime in or near the residence. It does not matter, the high court said, whether the main tenants knew about it. To attorney Gary Lafayette, the ruling is a victory for people who live in the projects, people who live near the projects and those families waiting to get into low-income housing, he said. "Drug use is almost more dangerous outside the four walls of your apartment," Lafayette said. "Children go outside to play on the playground. Would you rather there be a man smoking crack outside, or inside his apartment?" Rucker was living with her daughter, Gleinda, when the younger woman was caught with some of Grandmaster Flash's white lines and a crack pipe three blocks away from the East Oakland apartment. Rucker said she regularly searched the modest dwelling, but never saw any sign of drug use. Despite this, the authority started eviction proceedings in early 1998. The Supreme Court decision states Gleinda was locked up after the incident, and the housing authority dropped its eviction proceedings. Eviction proceedings began against Lee and Hill after their two grandchildren were caught smoking pot in the complex's parking lot. The grandparents claimed no prior knowledge of the drug use. "But how old do you think they are?" asked Lafayette, who said the two still live with Lee and Hill. "They're 34 and 27. That changes things a bit, doesn't it?" Walker, 75, is disabled. He cannot live on his own and requires a caretaker. On three occasions, the aide and two guests were found with cocaine in Walker's downtown Oakland apartment. After the third violation, the housing authority terminated the lease and began eviction proceedings. The four were lulled into a false sense of security after an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in their favor in January 2001. That court, politically to the left of the high court, ruled HUD was too harsh in applying its anti-drug policies. The Supreme Court, in an 8-to-0 decision, reversed the lower court, finding the language of the law clearly puts the decision in the hands of local housing authorities. Justice Stephen Breyer, whose brother Charles heard the case at the trial level, did not take part in the ruling. The statute, wrote Chief Justice William Rehnquist, gives those authorities, "the discretion to terminate the lease of a tenant when a member of the household or a guest engages in drug-related activity, regardless of whether the tenant knew, or should have known, of the drug-related activity." The ruling was disturbing to public housing residents in San Francisco, and at least one called the decision grossly unfair. Susan McAllister, who lives in the Bayview housing projects, said laws and regulations to keep drug dealing and use down are entirely appropriate, but they go too far. "If my daughter is coming out of someone else's residence with drugs, I could get evicted?" asked McAllister. "That's just wrong. I could see it if she was coming out of this house, but otherwise, it's just not right." Arelious Walker, the minister of the nearby True Hope Church, said the ruling might be a good wake-up call. He said many elderly often live with children who are involved in drugs without knowing what to do about it. In many cases, grandparents have kids who bring drugs and guns into the home right under their noses -- and they have no idea. "It puts fear into people's hearts," he said. "Now, if people know they may be evicted, they may be more cautious." Not many agreed with that logic. "We can't be our brothers-keepers for everything," said Beverly Taylor, who works with seniors. "Our system neglects our seniors and as soon as something happens, they're ready to punish our seniors for something they're not responsible for." Staff writer Nina Wu contributed to this story. Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA) Related Articles: Scales of Justice Justices Rule Drug-Eviction Law Is Fair Supreme Court Backs Public Housing Drug Ban Supreme Court Approves Public Housing Drug Ban Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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