In re Eichorn

James Eichorn (defendant), homeless in Santa Ana, California, was cited for sleeping in a designated public area after explaining that the local homeless shelter (the Armory) was consistently full, which he had personally experienced. The trial court denied his requests for expert funding on sleep-deprivation harms and to present a necessity defense, but at his bench trial Eichorn nonetheless presented expert testimony establishing a rising homelessness rate, a lack of available shelter beds, the Armory's over-capacity status the night he was cited, and that most homeless individuals were involuntarily unemployed with no sleeping alternative; the trial court still found his necessity showing inadequate, and he was convicted and, after the appellate department affirmed, sought habeas relief.