Laws prohibiting sleeping in public do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment for the homeless community, the Supreme Court said Friday in a 6-3 decision.
The majority of justices ruled that cities can pass generally applicable laws regarding homelessness without violating the Eighth Amendment.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a scathing dissent, which was joined by the court’s other two more liberal justices.
She argued that the majority opinion ignores the experiences of homeless men and women.
“It is possible to recognize,” Sotomayor wrote, “and balance the issues facing local governments, the humanity and dignity of homeless people, and our constitutional principles. Instead, most focus almost exclusively on the needs of local governments and leave the most vulnerable in our society with an impossible choice: stay awake or go to jail.”
Case history
Like many communities, the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, has responded to the homelessness crisis in several ways.
It allocated resources to shelters serving homeless men and women and also passed laws that address issues associated with the large number of people sleeping outdoors, including health and safety issues.
In the Supreme Court case, the justices considered municipal laws on sleeping in public, which prohibit sleeping in tents or on municipally owned benches, among other behaviors.
“The ordinances impose a $295 fine for violations, with the fine increasing to more than $500 if not paid. After two citations, officers may issue an order prohibiting the individual from entering city property; a violation of this order exposes the individual to conviction on criminal trespass charges, which carry penalties of up to 30 days in jail and a $1,250 fine,” according to SCOTUSblog.
Members of the city’s homeless community who filed the lawsuit argue that the city’s restrictions on public sleeping violate the part of the Constitution dealing with cruel and unusual punishments. They say city officials can’t ban outdoor sleeping if there aren’t enough shelters for everyone.
For their part, city officials argue that the policies promote public safety and help them connect homeless men and women to important services, as the Deseret News previously reported.
Lower courts, including the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled against the city, ruling that Grants Pass illegally turned homelessness into a crime.
The Supreme Court has already overturned these decisions.
This story will be updated.
