Supreme Court to weigh whether cities can punish homeless people for sleeping on public land
The US Supreme Court has agreed to review a case regarding municipal ordinances that ban homeless people from camping on public property, and whether these violate the constitutional protection against “cruel and unusual punishment”. The decision will challenge a ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which stated that ordinances in Grants Pass, Oregon, are prohibited under the Constitution’s 8th Amendment. Several officials from cities with large homeless populations, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix, are asking the Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court’s decision. The ruling was critiqued heavily within the appeals court itself, with a narrow vote of 14-13 deciding against reconsidering it. The ordinances in question prohibit sleeping or camping on public property, with punishments including hefty fines and exclusion orders barring people from public property.
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