It's a happy new year for Humboldt County property owners who have been impacted by the cannabis abatement program for the past seven years. The long-awaited decisions from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided almost entirely in favor of abatement recipients' claims against the County.
The decisions also set legal precedent in the Ninth Circuit regarding our Eighth Amendment protection from the government's use of excessive fines and fees. This case helped shape laws for the northwestern part of the country, including Hawaii, Alaska, California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho.
The federal class action lawsuit Thomas v County of Humboldt challenges the constitutionality of the 2017-born Humboldt County cannabis abatement program and has been worming its way through the courts since it was filed in October 2022 by the Institute for Justice.
The Institute for Justice wrote in their press release: "Today, in a significant victory for property rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a district court decision that dismissed a lawsuit challenging Humboldt County's unconstitutional code enforcement program."
Read more at KYM Kemp