A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that L.A. City Councilman Herb Wesson cannot perform the duties of his office, at least temporarily.
The move hands a victory to a civil rights group and allies of Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was suspended after being indicted by federal prosecutors last fall.
Wesson, who already served three terms on the council, was appointed as a temporary replacement by the council earlier this year.
Representatives of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California and several other plaintiffs objected to the appointment and sued. They requested that Wesson be removed from the post pending the verdict from the judge.
Superior Court Judge Mary H. Strobel didn’t remove Wesson but instead said the longtime Los Angeles politician is “enjoined from performing any functions of a council member.“
Strobel said the plaintiffs, who also include a group of voters in Ridley-Thomas’ district, have a sufficient likelihood of prevailing in their argument that Wesson is legally barred from returning to the council on an interim basis, since he has already served the maximum number of terms under the city’s term limit law.
The city and the plaintiffs will appear before Strobel again next month. It was not immediately clear what tasks Wesson would be allowed to perform while still representing the 10th Council district.
The city attorney’s office declined to comment. A representative of Wesson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The council voted to suspend Ridley-Thomas in October, a week after he was indicted on bribery and other charges in a case involving county contracts.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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