Can cities criminalize homeless people? The Supreme Court is set to decide

The Supreme Court is set to weigh in on one of the most consequential cases on homelessness in the United States in decades.

On Monday, the justices heard oral arguments in the case City of Grants Pass v Johnson, which addresses whether cities can punish individuals for sleeping outside on public property if they have nowhere else to go.

The case was brought by a group of unhoused people in Grants Pass, Oregon who challenged a series of city ordinances that allowed police to fine, ticket or jail individuals for sleeping or camping on publicly-owned property.

The plaintiffs argue that those punishments are “cruel and unusual”, violating their Eighth Amendment right in the US Constitution.

But Grants Pass, a city of just under 40,000 people, argues that the laws were created to make people sleeping on public property “uncomfortable” after some locals raised safety concerns.

The city has as many as 600 people experiencing homelessness but a vacancy rate of 1 per cent and little to no affordable housing. While there is a homeless shelter available, it is a high-barrier one which means that individuals must abide by strict rules to obtain a bed.

So far, federal judges in lower courts have sided with the plaintiffs, blocking Grants Pass from enforcing the ordinances. The Supreme Court’s decision is expected in or before June.

In 2013, the Grants Pass city council decided to impose $295 fines for using blankets, pillows or cardboard boxes to sleep within the city. That fine increases to $537.60 if it’s unpaid. Should a person receive two citations, police can ban the person from city property – a punishment that carries a penalty of up to 30 days in jail and a $1,250 fine.

In 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in