What the SCOTUS Camping Decision Means for Local Homelessness Policy
The Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass lets lawmakers impose fines and jail time on homeless people sleeping outside. Advocates say that’s counterproductive.
Tents set up by the homeless have become a policy question for many local governments.
Photographer: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service/Getty Images
In a 6-3 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled that state and local laws that penalize homeless people for sleeping outdoors do not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, even if they have nowhere else to go.
The court’s decision in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, which upholds a local ban on sleeping outside, will allow cities and states that struggle to provide enough housing or shelter options for residents to turn to police to respond to the growing problem of homelessness. Advocates say that the ruling will enable lawmakers to effectively criminalize the state of being unhoused.