Are Laws That Prohibit Camping on Public Property Constitutional?
PROS
In 2013, the small southern Oregon town of Grants Pass adopted a series of ordinances that prohibited sleeping or camping on city sidewalks, streets, parks and other public property. The punishment for violating the laws started with a $295 fine and increased to jail time for repeat offenders. From 2013 to 2019, the city says it issued approximately 100 citations a year involving violations of the ordinances. In October 2018, a group of unhoused residents of Grants Pass filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging the ordinances violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment” by punishing the status of being homeless. After a district court issued a summary judgment striking down the ordinances as unconstitutional, the city appealed to the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. When that court also ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on Sept. 28, 2022, Grants Pass appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted certiorari on Jan. 12, 2024. The following is excerpted from the Brief for Petitioner as submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court on March 27, 2024….
