Navigating Officer Discretion and Necessity Defense

The chapter delves into the complexities of officer discretion and city policies in response to civil infractions, emphasizing the need for officers to guide individuals towards services rather than immediate citations. It explores the challenges of lacking a necessity defense in a city's policy on individuals sleeping on the streets and discusses the possibility of a class action lawsuit for its enforcement. The conversation also highlights the importance of laws that allow cities to intervene and incentivize individuals to seek shelter, touching on the constitutional rule regarding available beds for the homeless population and the impact of trespass laws on their situation.