Supreme Court rules cities may enforce laws against homeless encampments

Tents that serve as shelter for homeless people line the sidewalk along Fifth Street in downtown Los Angeles. In a 6-3 decision, the justices disagreed with the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco and ruled that it is not “cruel and unusual” punishment for city officials to forbid homeless people from sleeping on the streets or in parks. Gavin Newsom hailed the decision: “Today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court provides state and local officials the definitive authority to implement and enforce policies to clear unsafe encampments from our streets. This decision removes the legal ambiguities that have tied the hands of local officials for years and limited their ability to deliver on common-sense measures to protect the safety and well-being of our communities.” Los Angeles lawyer Theane Evangelis, who represented the Oregon city that had appealed, said the court “delivered urgent relief to the many communities that have struggled to address the growing problem of dangerous encampments.” Ann Oliva, chief executive of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, condemned the decision. Judge Roslyn Silver said the “city of Grants Pass cannot, consistent with the 8th Amendment, enforce its anti-camping ordinances against homeless persons for the mere act of sleeping outside with rudimentary protection from the elements, or for sleeping in their car at night, when there is no other place in the city for them to go.” The full 9th Circuit then split 14 to 13 to uphold that ruling.