Supreme Court to Determine Legality of Punishing Homeless for Sleeping Outside Without Shelter
Grants Pass, Oregon – The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that will determine whether local governments can penalize homeless individuals for sleeping or camping in public when shelter beds are not available. This raises the question of whether such laws violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The case stems from a complaint filed by three homeless individuals in Grants Pass, an Oregon city with a higher number of homeless people than available shelter beds. The city has ordinances that prohibit individuals from sleeping on the streets or … Read more