The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to review a lower-court’s ruling on whether homeless people have a constitutional right to camp on public property, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The court’s decision to pick up the case came a day after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed decisions from lower-courts in California and other Western states from blocking anti-camping ordinances, according to the the LA Times. (RELATED: California Homeless Man Found Not Guilty After Allegedly Attacking Former San Francisco Fire Commissioner)
Following the 9th Circuit’s decision calling it cruel and unusual punishment to deny homeless people a sleeping place, public officials in both California and eight other Western states face stricter legal challenges when seeking to clear encampments or relocate homeless people, the outlet reported.
However, a bipartisan group of public officials, including California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, had urged the issue to be taken to the high court in order to restore authority over sidewalks and parks, according to the LA Times.
The original case taken up by the 9th Circuit came from Grants Pass, Oregon which could not enforce ordinances that would prohibit homeless people “from using a blanket, pillow, or cardboard box for protection from the elements,” according to NBC Los Angeles. A previous ruling in 2018 in a similar case from Boise, Idaho found that enforcing an anti-camping law was a violation of the constitution when there are no alternative options, the outlet reported.
Newsom responded to the decision from the Supreme Court, stating that while his state has “invested billions” in order to deal with homelessness, legal rulings have ultimately “tied the hands of state and local governments.”
“The Supreme Court can now correct course and end the costly delays from lawsuits that have plagued our efforts to clear encampments and deliver services to those in need.” Newsom said, according to the LA Times.
While some lawmakers have been adamant to have the courts decide, homeless people and advocates have called the sweeps from officials cruel and a waste of taxpayer money, according to NBC Los Angeles. A lawyer from the group who challenged the Grants Pass ordinances, Ed Johnson, slammed the “failed policies” that are attempting to “distract the public and deflect blame.”
“The issue before the Court is whether cities can punish homeless residents simply for existing without access to shelter,” Johnson stated, according to the outlet. “Nevertheless, some politicians and others are cynically and falsely blaming the judiciary for the homelessness crisis to distract the public and deflect blame for years of failed policies.”
An estimated federal count of homeless people hitting roughly 653,100 in 2023 hit an all time record high by increasing nearly 12% since 2022, according to Axios. California alone reportedly accounted for 30% of the country’s homeless population in 2022, hitting roughly more than 172,000 homeless living in the state, according to numbers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development, Cal Matters reported.
The justices are expected to hear arguments from the case in April, and come to a decision by the end of June, according to the LA Times. The ruling will effectively be applied across nine Western states including: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.