A group of 20 attorneys general requested the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling on enforcing bans on homeless encampments.
A group of 20 attorneys general requested the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling on enforcing bans on homeless encampments.
This week, 20 attorneys general from Republican-controlled states petitioned the high court in the case of Johnson v. City of Grants Pass after the U.S. Appeals Court for the Ninth Circuit ruled last year that the Oregon city of Grants Pass violated the U.S. Constitution’s Eight Amendment by enforcing an ordinance to prevent people from sleeping in public if they have no other place to go.
The lawsuit was brought by three homeless individuals in Grants Pass, located near the Oregon–California border, several years ago. They argued that their constitutional rights were violated and sought to overturn the small city’s anti-homeless ordinances that levied fines and other regulations.
However, a growing number of cities and even some Democrats have said the lower court rulings essentially have made it difficult to enforce regulations against homeless camps. Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, filed a brief with the Supreme Court and urged it to take up the case, saying that the court rulings are unworkable and have led to a public safety crisis in major cities across his state.
The city of Grants Pass filed an appeal with the Supreme Court last month. It came after the Ninth Circuit Court in August upheld a ruling invalidating the Grants Pass anti-camping measure, which expanded on a previous case, Martin v. City of Boise, which prevented cities from blocking people from sleeping on public property if local governments cannot supply beds for them.
“Does the enforcement of generally applicable laws regulating camping on public property constitute ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ prohibited by the Eighth Amendment?” lawyers for the Grants Pass asked the nine justices in August.
On Monday, in their brief (pdf), the 20 attorneys general offices—led by Republican Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen—wrote that “allowing encampments is cruel and creates more suffering than the alternative,” citing health and safety issues that homeless people and the general public face by not clearing camps.
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