U.S. Supreme Court rules in Grants Pass case that people experiencing homelessness can be punished for sleeping in public

In April, United States Supreme Court Justices heard arguments in one of the most widely watched cases out of Oregon in recent memory. The question at the heart of Grants Pass v Johnson was whether cities can regulate where and when people can sleep outside, especially if there isn’t shelter space available. 

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had held that the city’s ordinance was in violation of the basic principle established in Martin v. Boise from 2018: “A person cannot be prosecuted for involuntary conduct if it is an unavoidable consequence of one’s status.”

But on Friday the Supreme Court issued its ruling siding with Grants Pass, saying that it is not cruel or unusual punishment to penalize people from living outdoors even if they have nowhere else to go. 

We get reaction and analysis from Grants Pass Mayor Sara Bristol and Sara Rankin, associate professor at Seattle University School of Law and the director of the Homeless Rights Advocacy Project. 

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