Legal Update: Effective June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court reversed the 9th Circuit in the Grants Pass Case and allows cities to resume public anti-camping enforcement against the homeless. On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a pivotal decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson impacting the enforcement of anti-camping ordinances against the homeless. The ruling reverses the 9th Circuit’s decision in Grants Pass as well as its 2018 Martin v. Boise decision on the legality of anti-camping enforcement measures affecting homeless communities. Supreme Court’s Ruling Highlights Nature of punishment. The 8th Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause does not apply to anti-camping conduct enforcement, and the punishments imposed for camping violations are neither cruel nor unusual. Criminalization of conduct, not status. Anti-camping laws criminalize the conduct of public camping, not the status of being homeless. Separation of Powers. The multi-faceted homelessness issue is better resolved by society and the legislative branches, not autocratically and rigidly one-size-fits-all by the courts. Other Constitutional Clauses. While the 8th Amendment...
