{"id":2227385,"date":"2024-04-22T16:02:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T20:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/justices-seem-to-take-citys-side-in-homeless-encampment-regulation\/"},"modified":"2024-04-22T16:07:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T20:07:43","slug":"justices-seem-to-take-citys-side-in-homeless-encampment-regulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/justices-seem-to-take-citys-side-in-homeless-encampment-regulation\/","title":{"rendered":"Judges lean towards city on homeless camp rules"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjustices-seem-to-take-citys-side-in-homeless-encampment-regulation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2227385&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Supreme Court hears a case on policing homelessness in Grants Pass, Oregon. The debate involves Eighth Amendment\u200b protection and the balance between regulation and compassion. Justices discuss the definition of homelessness status and its implications on laws. The case challenges the \u200denforcement of bans on public camping and raises concerns\u200d about criminalizing homelessness. The Supreme Court delves into \u200da pivotal case regarding policing homelessness in Grants Pass, Oregon, where the debate centers on Eighth Amendment protection and finding a balance between regulatory measures and\u200c compassion. Justices explore the definition of homelessness status, its\u2064 legal ramifications,\u200b and the contentious issue of criminalizing homelessness through the enforcement of public camping bans.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2971239\/supreme-court-could-pave-the-way-for-homeless-camp-bans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>case<\/a> that could answer the question about if and how homelessness can be policed. <\/p>\n<p>The <em>City of Grants, Oregon v. Johnson<\/em> is set to examine overlapping laws in Grants Pass, Oregon, which outlawed sleeping and camping in public places. A pair of homeless people sued the city, claiming the law violated the Eighth Amendment protections from \u201ccruel and unusual\u201d punishment. Typically, the Eighth Amendment is invoked to protect against punishments, not laws. <\/p>\n<p>The court appeared split along ideological lines during oral arguments. Some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-government-makes-your-bank-spy-on-you\/\" title=\"How Government Makes Your Bank Spy on You\">justices expressed concerns<\/a> about punishing homeless people who don\u2019t have an alternative shelter solution, but there seemed to be general agreement that the issue shouldn\u2019t be decided by the courts. <\/p>\n<h2>The case <\/h2>\n<p>The underlying debate relates to the 1962 case <em>Robinson v. California<\/em>, which ruled a person cannot be criminalized for being addicted to narcotics since that is an \u201cinvoluntary state of being.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Theane Evangelis, a lawyer on behalf of Grants Pass, argued the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal\u2019s ruling against criminal penalties was a \u201cfailed experiment\u201d and homelessness regulation is best left to local officials. Kelsi B. Corkran, a lawyer on behalf of the plaintiffs, argued the city\u2019s laws simply push the issue of homelessness elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>The plaintiffs argued the city\u2019s enforcement of the ban essentially criminalizes homeless people, as the city does not have shelters for them. <\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, the Oregon city claimed that criminal charges, like unpaid fines for camping, are not protected under the Eighth Amendment, and warned not enforcing the fines could lead to an increase in homeless encampments nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2018, the 9th Circuit in San Francisco has issued opinions that lawmakers like Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) blamed for increasing homeless encampments.\u00a0The 9th Circuit previously ruled Boise, Idaho, had violated the Constitution by imposing criminal penalties on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eric-adams-needs-to-move-faster-to-save-nycs-subways\/\" title=\"Eric Adams Needs to Move Faster to Save NYC\u2019s Subways\">homeless people sleeping<\/a> outside or camping. It said a city must house its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/seattle-media-doesnt-mention-that-homeless-man-who-brutally-assaulted-62-year-old-nurse-is-homeless\/\" title=\"Seattle Media Doesn\u2019t Mention That Homeless Man Who Brutally Assaulted 62-Year-Old Nurse Is Homeless\">entire homeless population<\/a> before giving out citations and fines. Lawyers on behalf of Grants Pass said the ruling made way for \u201csprawling encampments, rising deaths and widespread harms to the community, as localities are forced to surrender their public spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Supreme Court has an opportunity to strike a balance that allows officials to enforce reasonable limits on public camping while treating folks with compassion,\u201d Newsom said.<\/p>\n<h2>The arguments<\/h2>\n<p>Throughout the arguments, several justices asked how the status of homelessness is defined. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA number of us, I think, are having difficulty with the distinction between status and conduct. You can remove the homeless status in an instant if you move to a shelter, or situations otherwise change. And, of course, it can moved the other way as well, if you\u2019re kicked out of the shelter or whatever,\u201d Chief Justice John Roberts said.<\/p>\n<p>Roberts asked if being a \u201cbank robber\u201d is a status, citing<em> Robinson v. California<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>The <em>Robinson<\/em> case ruled laws that criminalize people for being drug addicts violate the Eighth Amendment\u2019s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. By the logic of the Robinson ruling, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/04\/22\/us\/supreme-court-homelessness\/5198e864-7e68-5921-9701-332cd3bc0853?smid=url-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>someone<\/a> could be a bank robber without robbing a bank, the chief justice observed.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Elena Kagan said the city\u2019s law went too far beyond seeking to ban encampments, also asking about the status of being homeless.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seems like you are criminalizing a status,\u201d Kagan said.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Sonia Sotomayor brought up Grants Pass\u2019s history with homelessness, in which officials discussed telling homeless people to go somewhere else, to other cities with a less harsh approach to homelessness, leading those cities to fear they might see a surge of homeless people.<\/p>\n<p>\u200b\u200b\u201dWhere do we put them if every city, every village, every town lacks compassion and passes a law identical to this? Where are they supposed to sleep? Are they supposed to kill themselves, not sleeping?\u201d Sotomayor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/us-supreme-court-eyes-anti-camping-laws-used-against-homeless-2024-04-22\/?taid=66269eac0da8f50001f05461&#038;utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&#038;utm_medium=trueAnthem&#038;utm_source=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>asked<\/a> Evangelis.<\/p>\n<p>Corkran said Grants Pass\u2019s laws \u201cmake people with the status (of homelessness) endlessly and unavoidably punishable if they don\u2019t leave Grants Pass. Indeed, all the ordinances do is turn the city\u2019s homelessness problem into someone else\u2019s problem by forcing its homeless residents into other jurisdictions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The justices <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/04\/22\/us\/supreme-court-homelessness\/ee82011a-8be5-5c7f-86fd-6c5a67dc9bf9?smid=url-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>danced<\/a> around a question about whether a homeless person who is offered shelter can be cited. Related, they also avoided the 9th Circuit\u2019s ruling. <\/p>\n<p>The justices did, however, seem in agreement that the problem of homelessness would not be solved in the courts. Roberts asked, \u201cWhy do you think these nine people are the best people to judge and weigh those policy judgments?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>General consensus from the justices appears to point to the idea that these specific policy debates were best left to local officials, not courts. The majority of the justices seemed inclined to side with the city and allow Grants Pass to decide how they will regulate homelessness. They did not see these arguments as constitutional questions for the high court.<\/p>\n<p>A decision in the case is expected to come by the end of June.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court heard arguments in a pivotal case on policing homelessness. The City of Grants, Oregon v. Johnson probes laws in Grants Pass banning public sleeping and camping. Homeless individuals are challenging these regulations, sparking a critical legal debate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2227386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/scotus-homeless-1024x597.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2227385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/scotus-homeless-1024x597.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2227385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2227386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2227385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2227385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2227385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}