This Dissent Is Why Sonia Sotomayor Is the People’s Justice
SlateThe Supreme Court upheld laws that single out homeless people for punishment in Friday’s Grants Pass v. Johnson, a 6–3 decision with all three liberals in dissent. Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent shows pretty conclusively that lawmakers decided to target these individuals through a stringent ban that made it a crime to sleep outside, even when there’s zero available shelter. Related From Slate Sonia Sotomayor Is Trying to Warn Us About the Supreme Court’s Dirtiest Open Secret Gorsuch held that the Grants Pass law, and others like it, don’t violate the Eighth Amendment because it doesn’t punish the “status” of being homeless, but rather the “conduct” of sleeping outside. She writes that people become homeless for many reasons, including “crippling debt and stagnant wages; domestic and sexual abuse; physical and psychiatric disabilities; and rising housing costs coupled with declining affordable housing options.” Some people “are one unexpected medical bill away from being unable to pay rent.” Individuals “with disabilities, immigrants, and veterans face policies that increase housing instability.” She talks about people who’ve lost housing in Oregon “because of climate events such as extreme wildfires across the state, floods in the coastal areas, and heavy snowstorms.” Tell me if I’m overreading this.
History of this topic
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