Update: SCOTUS Reaches Decision on City of Grants Pass v. Johnson
By Kendall Murphy, JD
Legal Advocate, Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy, and Law)
Kennedy Krieger Institute
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Update:
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided the case of The City of Grants Pass v. Johnson on June 28, 2024. In this case, Gloria Johnson argued that the Grants Pass ordinance violated the Eighth Amendment because it criminalized homelessness by punishing homeless people who slept on public streets, alleyways or sidewalks.
By a vote of 6-3, the justices ruled that ordinances that regulate sleeping on public property do not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. This decision allows cities like Grants Pass, Oregon, to enforce laws that restrict sleeping on public property, even if it affects homeless individuals.
This decision will negatively impact homeless people, especially those with mental health conditions and disabilities. As Justice Sotomayor noted in her dissent, the majority’s ruling focuses almost exclusively on the needs of local governments and leaves the most vulnerable in our society with an impossible choice: either stay awake all night or be arrested. Justice Sotomayor recognizes that in a society where those with mental health conditions are at greater risk of homelessness and where less than 5% of housing in the United States is accessible for moderate mobility disabilities, Grants Pass will harm people across disabilities, especially Black, Native American, and LGBTQIA2S+ individuals, survivors of domestic violence, and veterans.
In 2018, Debra Blake, who has since passed away, filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, challenging an ordinance that limited the outdoor sleeping areas available to homeless people. The ordinance punished homeless people by not allowing individuals to sleep in public streets, alleyways or sidewalks. Although there was an allowance for homeless people to sleep in public parks, the ordinance prohibited individuals from using camping materials, bedding, or parked overnight vehicles for the purpose of maintaining a temporary place to live. Repeat violators would be banned from public parks for 30 days or face criminal trespass charges. The district court issued a permanent injunction which provided the relief that the anti-camping restrictions could only be enforced during the day and with a 24-hour warning from law enforcement.
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