Traditional nuisance ordinances are environmental regulations that prohibit things like piling trash in a yard or making loud noises at night. But some ordinances prohibit frequent 911 calls and allow the city to fine the property owner when 911 is called too many times to a certain property. These laws have dire consequences for victims of domestic violence, and they can lead to these victims becoming homeless.

For today’s episode, we talked separately with Professor Vicki Been, the Boxer Family Professor of Law at New York University School of Law and the former Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development for the City of New York; Gretchen Arnold, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Saint Louis University; and Professor Joseph Mead from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and his graduate research assistant Marissa Pappis.

This episode was produced by Yosef Schaffel. Music from bensound.com