PORTLAND – Pine Tree Legal Assistance and the ACLU of Maine filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Friday challenging the constitutionality of actions undertaken by the Westbrook Police Department. Two Westbrook police officers used “no trespass” orders to evict tenants from their apartment in violation of Maine law, which provides a specific process for conducting evictions. Both Pine Tree and the ACLU are concerned about the growing use of “no trespass” orders, which make it a crime for a person to enter a certain area.
“Maine law requires that tenants be given fair warning of an impending eviction, an opportunity to contest the grounds of eviction, and a chance to move their belongings out of their apartment,” said Katherine McGovern, Staff Attorney with Pine Tree Legal Assistance. “Our client, Kevin McBride got none of these things. Instead, he and his partner were insulted by the police for being poor and were told that they had a half-hour to retrieve their belongings.”
The practices are part of a larger problem of “no trespass” orders, which have been used by various municipalities in Maine to keep children from visiting parents in public housing and to keep homeless people out of downtown parks or public squares. Though some cities have adopted standards for appealing the orders, others have not. In addition, the police often do not explain the legal basis for the order if there is one, or when the order will expire.
“Everyone deserves the protection of the law,” said Zachary Heiden, Legal Director at the ACLU of Maine. “When the police don’t follow the law, it leaves people with nowhere else to turn.”
The City of Westbrook is expected to respond to the suit in the coming months. Meanwhile, plaintiffs in the case are homeless and are unable to visit children and grandchildren who live in the apartment building from which they have been banned.
The complaint is available online here (pdf).
July 30, 2013
