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XPost: sac.politics

A Sacramento judge is appealing to the mayor for help over what he called "disheartening conditions" outside the courthouse downtown that he said
are causing major problems.

"These daily incidents include, but are not limited to, physical and
verbal assault, public sex acts, open fires, nudity, urinating and
defecating on walkways," Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael
Bowman wrote in a letter addressed to Mayor Darrell Steinberg on Friday.

Bowman added that security officers have had to remove some unsheltered individuals from the courthouse on a daily basis as well as remove their
feces and other waste nearby.

"When coming to court is a trial itself for victims, witnesses or even
jurors - access to justice is threatened," he wrote. "So, too, is public service when our employees' fear for their own safety prevents them from leaving our buildings to go for a walk or supporting local businesses by
having lunch with a colleague or shopping the farmers market."

Bowman said that on behalf of "the thousands of people who use our
services and our 416 downtown employees, I respectfully request the
Sacramento Police Department increase its presence near our downtown court locations, jury and employee parking lots, and that code violations be enforced. More importantly, it is my hope that the burgeoning unsheltered population surrounding the Court be connected with the services and
support they so desperately need."

Read the full letter here.

https://www.saccourt.ca.gov/general/docs/letter-to-mayor-steinberg-
062923.Pdf

Steinberg's office released a statement in response to Bowman's letter
vowing action.

"The presiding judge and the district attorney are right. I'm working with
the City Manager to open up the Miller Park Safe Camping no later than two weeks from now. The first priority will be to address the encampments surrounding the DA's office and the courthouse. Those areas will be
cleaned," the mayor's office said.

https://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-judge-writes-letter-to-mayor- steinberg/44402791

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