The U.S. Supreme Court will continue to wrestle with major questions about the growing issue of homelessness as it considers whether cities can punish people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking. Grants Pass v. Johnson is the most significant case before the high court in decades on the issue, and it comes as record numbers of people are without a permanent place to live in the United States. The case started in the rural Oregon town of Grants Pass, which began fining people $295 for sleeping outside as the cost of housing escalated and tents sprung up in the city's public parks. The San Francisco-based U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law under its holding that banning camping in places without enough shelter beds amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Read more here.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 4/23/2024