Miami - A federal judge abolished an extrajudicial settlement decree that prevented Miami police from arresting homeless people on charges of vagrancy, sleeping on sidewalks or urinating on public roads.
Federal judge Federico Moreno issued an opinion on Friday to dissolve the so-called Pottinger Agreement, which protected the homeless population of Miami from what was seen as police harassment.
The Miami Herald newspaper reported that Moreno decided that the supervision of a court was no longer necessary because shelters and social services are now available to assist the city's homeless population.
The Pottinger Settlement was the result of a class-action lawsuit brought against the city by 5,000 homeless people in the early 1990s.
Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) opposed the motion to dissolve the agreement. Moreno said the case had forced the city to improve its behavior towards its indigent population.