The Judge Who Ruled for the Homeless

I was in the courtroom the day Judge B. Tam Nomoto handed down her decision regarding the sweep of the homeless in the Orange County Civic Center. I listened to her articulate opinion and watched as homeless and police officers alike wiped tears from the corners of their eyes.

Later, I heard attorneys speak of Nomoto’s fairness, in this and other trials, and her disregard for the political implications of ruling against the police (and for the indigent) in such a conservative county.

I suspect that there will be those who question Nomoto’s decision; that some will say the sweep was a good way to reduce crime in the area. I suspect that there will be those who criticize Nomoto for not letting the police clean up the county.

But I would like to applaud Nomoto for her decision. Listening to her opinion, I realized that she was all for crime control, but in this case the police arrested people just because they were homeless or poor. How can anyone condone that? I’m glad we have a few judges who are not afraid to be fair even in the face of political oppression.

S. PALMER, Irvine