PASADENA, Calif. (CN) — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday took a skeptical view at the order last year by a trial judge directing the Veterans Affairs Department to build as many as 1,800 supportive housing units on its campus in West Los Angeles and cancel its third-party leases, including UCLA.
At a hearing in Pasadena, the three-judge appellate panel heard appeals of U.S. District Judge David Carter’s October ruling in the class action brought on behalf of disabled, homeless vets who suffer from mental illness and brain injuries. For years, they have been camping on the streets around the West LA campus to access the medical services there.
U.S. Circuit Judge Consuelo Callahan observed that Veterans Affairs historically has done a poor job caring for the thousands of vets who live on the streets of LA. But the George W. Bush appointee also wondered whether the solution was to have a federal trial judge put in charge of the campus.
“Judge Carter basically said he’s going to run the VA now because you’ve done such a bad job, right?” Callahan told Daniel Winik, a lawyer for the government. “The remedies here are what cause me concern.”
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