NEW YORK, NY December 04, 2007 —A dispute over how the city determines who is homeless will be fought out in court. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports.

Judge Helen Freedman had appointed a panel of experts to look into the matter after homeless advocates filed a motion, claiming too many families are mistakenly found ineligible for shelter. But the city opposed the panel and pressed for the case to be heard in open court. In her ruling, Judge Freedman said given the city's lack of confidence in the process, the mediation would not be fruitful.

Legal Aid attorney Steve Banks represents homeless families and says it's unfortunate that the city has chosen to proceed with a courtroom confrontation. Litigation over how the city handles the homeless population goes back decades. This would have been the 2nd panel of experts to be appointed within the last 4 years. For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez.