A New Orleans judge on Tuesday indefinitely prohibited the Louisiana State Police from conducting sweeps on homeless encampments in New Orleans without issuing adequate notice, as required by city law.

The preliminary injunction, issued by Civil District Court Judge Ethel Julien, will remain in effect while a lawsuit against the state makes its way through the courts. It follows a short-term temporary restraining order Julien issued against the state last week.

The lawsuit, filed against the State Police — along with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Department of Transportation and Development — alleges that the agencies, which all participated in earlier sweeps, violated encampment residents’ constitutional rights by illegally searching and seizing their property without due process. Along with constitutional violations, the lawsuit also alleges that Troop NOLA violated a city law requiring 24 hours advance notice to clear homeless encampments.

“There are certain constitutional protections that should be in place before the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the State Police begin these relocations,” Julien said. (Julien found that DOTD employees were only involved in the clean-up following earlier sweeps and did not extend the preliminary injunction to the agency.)

The lawsuit was originally filed in October, after Troop NOLA — a squad of state troopers deployed to the city since earlier this year — led an operation to sweep homeless encampments around the Central Business District. Agents from the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries assisted in the roundups.

The order to conduct the October sweeps, made in advance of a series of Taylor Swift concerts at the Superdome, came from Gov. Jeff Landry over the fierce objections of city officials, including Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration and members of the New Orleans City Council, who feared that the operation would jeopardize the city’s long-term efforts to steadily place encampment residents into stable housing.

But the city has little control over how and where the troopers operate. Unlike a previous long-term deployment of state troopers in New Orleans under former Mayor Mitch Landrieu, the Cantrell administration did not ink a formal operating agreement with Troop NOLA.

The Mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request from Verite News for comment on the preliminary injunction. In an emailed statement, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, whose office was defending the State Police, said she was “continuing to work with State Police and the Governor’s Office to make sure everyone follows the law while ensuring public safety, and that state owned property and state rights of way aren’t obstructed.”

In late October, following the first operation, Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge Lori Jupiter granted a temporary restraining order, barring the State Police — or the other agencies that had assisted with the sweeps— from carrying out further sweeps through the first few days of November. But Judge Julien later declined to extend the order to cover future sweeps.

On Nov. 22, state troopers began issuing flyers to unhoused residents in the French Quarter and other neighborhoods ahead of last weekend’s Bayou Classic saying they had 24 hours to vacate or risk “legal action” or “assisted relocating,” to a state-sanctioned encampment under the U.S. 90 overpass. Scott and Alfred’s attorneys again asked for a TRO, which Julien granted on Monday, Nov. 25.

At issue on Tuesday was whether to grant a preliminary injunction — a longer-term ban. The order Julien granted will prohibit the state agencies from conducting future encampment sweeps without giving 24 hours notice and ban them from destroying or disposing of unhoused residents’ property without due process. The order will remain in effect while the suit is pending — the plaintiffs are ultimately seeking a permanent injunction — or until the state successfully appeals.

In court, the state argued that the TRO was issued improperly, claiming that the October and November sweeps were unrelated and that the later attempts to clear encampments did not affect plaintiffs in the case. The state also argued that troopers were blocked from performing their normal duties of enforcing laws and ensuring the health and safety of residents, which attorneys reiterated in their argument against a preliminary injunction.

When questioned, attorneys claimed troopers were enforcing a law to keep state-owned highways and sideways clear.

Julien said she was “not impressed with that argument” as agency officials transferred unhoused residents from an encampment underneath the U.S. 90 overpass to another location several blocks away.

Attorneys for the state also argued that the November attempts to sweep encampments were only made on state-owned roadways. However, Julien pointed out that affidavits submitted by State Police officials confirmed that some actions were taken on city property.

William Most, lead attorney for Scott and Alfred, said this acknowledgment from Julien was “crucial.”

“What we see is confusion and chaos that’s created by the State Police because they have taken actions, pulled back, issued flyers saying your presence is a violation, (and) then not acted on those flyers.”

Eric Foley, who also represents Alfred and Scott, argued against the state’s claims that the sweeps did not or would not cause irreparable harm to the specific plaintiffs. Foley noted that Scott received a notice to vacate an encampment on Bolivar Street on Nov. 26 and felt compelled to do so when officials arrived at the location the following day, as he had been forcibly removed in the October sweeps (although officials did not remove him or seize his property).

Foley said loss of property or necessary medications have “downstream consequences.” Foley said unhoused residents might be less likely to leave their belongings to seep medications or employment for fear that their possessions could be seized.

“It is not as easy for a person to replace those items as it might be for you or me,” Most said following the hearing. “And that’s why it’s so important that the state follow basic constitutional rules in handling people’s property because we all have a right to property, whether you live in a mansion or under a bridge.”

In a statement, City Councilwoman Lesli Harris — whose district includes the CBD and surrounding areas with some of the highest concentrations of homeless encampment in the city — said Julien’s order will “stop the chaos” created by Landry and Troop NOLA during earlier sweeps.

“Now, instead of focusing all of our efforts on stopping harmful State conduct, the City and our partners can put our energy back into practices that make a real difference: connecting our unhoused residents with permanent, affordable housing and the services needed to make that last.”

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This story was originally published by Verite News and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.