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[T] People v. Ventura5/6/2004
wn, the Court is trying to illustrate its sensitivity to these issues and encouraging all others to do likewise. Selected allegations in the Freeport complaint are as follows:
This is a case about the Village of Freeport's ("the Village" or "Defendant") unconstitutional and discriminatory inspections of the homes of its residents. Village housing inspectors routinely have entered Latino residents' homes and conducted inspections for housing code violations without first obtaining consent to search or a search warrant, and without the presence of exigent circumstances while the Village itself has condoned and facilitated those unlawful home inspections and has discriminated against Latino residents by targeting homes for inspections based on the national origin of their occupants.
Village inspectors' illegal entry into and searches of residents' homes has taken many forms, including (i) entering despite residents' outright refusal to consent; (ii) informing residents that they had no choice but to consent; and (iii) misrepresenting to residents that they had obtained consent from the homes' owners. These unlawful practices have been directed primarily at Latino households.
The Village's targeting of the homes of its Latino residents for inspections also has a long history. Responding to complaints from long-time Village residents about an influx of Latino immigrants into the Village starting in the late 1980's, the Village, through its Building Department, commenced and continued a program to inspect Latino residents' homes, over-inspecting homes of Latino residents as compared to homes of non-Latino residents living in blocks with similar housing conditions.
The Attorney General brings this action to vindicate the rights of all Village residents who have been subject to or may in the future be subject to illegal searches of their homes. The Attorney General also brings this action to protect Latino residents in particular, whose right to be secure in their homes is being violated and is at risk of being violated in the future by the Village of Freeport's practice of targeting their homes for inspections and use of unlawful means to gain entry to conduct those inspections.
Plaintiffs' federal claims arise under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, as cognizable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, as well as under the federal Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3604(a), 3604(b), and 3617. Plaintiffs' New York State claim arises under N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 40-c.
Additionally, some Latino residents, many of whom are new immigrants to this country and many of whom have limited financial resources, are either unaware of the legal remedies available to them or are unable to secure representation to enforce their legal rights. For these and other reasons, complete relief cannot be obtained through a private lawsuit by individual plaintiffs.
In the early 1990's, the Village began receiving complaints from various neighborhood associations and Village residents about homes of Latino residents. Particularly, these complaints alleged "over-occupancy", i.e. violation of the Village Housing Standards Code's provisions concerning the permissible number of units in each residence, the minimum space required per person living in each residence, and/or the Code's ban on basement rentals.
In addition, rather than issuing summonses for violations to landlords in order to induce them to improve conditions for their tenants, the Village more frequently began issuing summonses to tenants instead.
The inspectors proceeded to inspect the entire home, beyond the area of the police officers' plain view, a
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