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The U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month Grants Pass v. Johnson Empowering local governments across the country to ticket, arrest, and punish homeless people for simply living in public spaces. This ruling undermines the right to adequate housing in the United States; it is also extremely cruel and has the potential to increase invalid criminalization.
In its ruling, the court reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision in the case and Martin v. Boise, The law limits punishment for homeless people who have no other legal place to live or are unable to find shelter. The court said criminalizing homelessness does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Supreme Court Held Authorities may not punish a person solely based on his or her status rather than his or her actions. grants pass The majority did not explicitly overturn that precedent but said the Eighth Amendment applies only to forms of punishment — not illegal behavior or status — and that states can choose to criminalize whatever behavior they want without violating the Constitution. The ruling opens the door to further punishing poverty and other statuses.
The decision gives local and state governments the green light to enact and enforce laws that ban homeless people from public spaces, regardless of whether they have adequate housing or shelter. Georgia, Texas, Florida and othershave passed such laws. A recent study It was found that most cities surveyed already have such laws in place.
In Los Angeles, city council members had previously been limited by Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rulings. start In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, other jurisdictions may race to adopt similar measures because they don’t want to be the only place in their region where homeless people can live safely.
The majority opinion held that criminalization is not a legitimate tool to address homelessness because it subjects people to brutal treatment and arbitrary arrest, punishing them simply for living in public places without housing. Criminalization has also been shown to be invalidIt forces homeless people into hiding and denies them access to useful services. Criminalization causes suffering, but it does not House ResidentsThe ruling allows authorities to ignore real solutions, particularly the provision and preservation of affordable housing, because they can simply remove homeless people with the threat of criminal enforcement.
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