Carter Warns of Court Intervention if City and County Fail to Fix Broken Systems
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, famous for his rulings against the West Los Angeles VA and UCLA in favor of veterans, on Thursday sharply criticized Los Angeles city and county officials over long-standing failures to properly track and manage billions of dollars in homeless services funding. He called the system broken and urged immediate reforms to ensure accountability.
The judge, who was out of patience, said, “We pay your bills. Figure this out.” to a group that included Mayor Karen Bass, City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, L.A. County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger and City Controller Kenneth Mejia. Carter added, “I am your worst nightmare. I can make your lives miserable.”
The rebuke came during a hearing convened by Judge Carter following the release of a scathing independent audit that found the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) lacked adequate data systems and financial oversight despite handling more than $2.5 billion in public funds aimed at addressing the region’s homelessness crisis.
“Nobody is asking our providers what they did or what services they performed,” Carter said. “We may have providers who committed fraud, and we may never know. We may also have providers who did excellent work, and we’ll never know that either.”
Judge Carter questioned why city officials had not pursued legal action against underperforming or potentially fraudulent service providers. “If we’re so short on money, why aren’t these providers being sued? Are they waiting for us to get senile or die?” he asked.
While the judge stopped short of imposing a court-appointed receiver to oversee the city’s homeless response — citing the city’s fragile financial condition — he strongly criticized the lack of transparency and oversight, particularly at LAHSA, which has been the subject of multiple audits since 2007 highlighting similar failings.
“This is a slow train wreck,” Carter said, noting that the situation has persisted across multiple administrations and oversight efforts.
Mayor Karen Bass, L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, and representatives from LAHSA attended the hearing and raised concerns about the audit’s methodology and said it failed to offer clear recommendations for resolving the issues.
“I felt there was a lack of understanding of how they came to some of the conclusions,” said Barger, chair of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
Mayor Bass echoed the need for systemic change, emphasizing that addressing homelessness goes beyond housing alone.
“Of course, people need to be housed, but that’s not enough,” Bass said. “There needs to be comprehensive services, and those services need to be based on outcomes — how well did that person do?”
Bass, however, rejected Carter’s suggestion that she allow L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia to conduct a performance audit of her signature Inside Safe homelessness initiative. City attorneys argued that the city charter requires the mayor’s consent for such an audit — a position disputed by Mejia and the co-author of the charter language.
Attorney Matthew Umhofer, representing the LA Alliance for Human Rights — the group that initiated the legal case against the city and county — urged the court to consider appointing a receiver with budgetary control, comparing the current crisis to the one that led to federal oversight of California’s prison healthcare system.
“The judge’s patience has worn thin. Our patience has worn thin,” Umhofer said. “If the city and county aren’t going to act, the court must.”
Despite resistance from city leadership, Carter ordered Bass to coordinate directly with the controller to find a way forward on oversight. Whether that audit will proceed remains uncertain.
Carter concluded the hearing by underscoring the urgency of the moment. “Folks, you’ve got to solve this — or else the court is going to step in.”
