A judge is issuing a grave warning to federal Veterans Affairs officials, threatening to hold them in contempt of court for failing to add temporary homes for unhoused veterans at the West L.A. VA campus.
At issue is an order U.S. District Judge David O. Carter issued on Oct. 18 directing Veterans Affairs officials to pick a company to add tiny homes for veterans needing shelter before winter. So far, VA officials have called on him to halt his order, saying it would take money away from other services.
In a new decision posted late Thursday, Carter wrote that “to ensure prompt compliance,” he was ordering VA officials to tell him by 8 a.m. Wednesday why they “should not be held in contempt for failure to complete procurement contracts.”
In doing so, he rejected the VA’s request to pause his housing order until their appeal of it — filed Oct. 28 — is decided by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The need for temporary housing for disabled, homeless veterans before winter conditions arrive is an emergency,” Carter wrote.
If people are found in contempt for disobeying a lawful federal court order, consequences can include fines or imprisonment.
L.A. County is home to the largest population of unsheltered veterans in the country. Countywide, about 3,000 veterans were counted in January, down from about 3,900 a year earlier.
The backstory
Citing what he described as an emergency of veteran homelessness, in early October Carter ordered the VA to add more housing much more quickly at the campus — directing officials to add dozens of pre-built tiny homes before winter and hundreds by spring. He gave a specific timeline for the VA…
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