Supreme Court will decide whether local anti-homeless laws are 'cruel and unusual'

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court agreed Friday to reappraisal lower-court rulings that marque it harder for cities successful the occidental United States to forestall radical from sleeping connected the streets erstwhile determination aren't capable beds successful stateless shelters.

The justices volition perceive an entreaty from the metropolis of Grants Pass, successful southwest Oregon, that has the backing of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, arsenic good arsenic different Democratic and Republican elected officials who person struggled to woody with homelessness brought connected by rising lodging costs and income inequality.

The court's enactment comes a time aft a sheet of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower-court ruling blocking anti-camping ordinances successful San Francisco, wherever Newsom erstwhile was the mayor.

A abstracted 9th circuit sheet ruled successful the Oregon lawsuit that Grants Pass could not enforce section ordinances that prohibit stateless radical "from utilizing a blanket, pillow, oregon cardboard container for extortion from the elements." The determination applies crossed 9 occidental states, Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

The 2 rulings, similar a 2018 determination from the 9th circuit successful a lawsuit from Boise, Idaho, recovered that punishing radical for sleeping connected the streets erstwhile nary alternate structure is disposable amounts to "cruel and antithetic punishment" successful usurpation of the Constitution.

Elected officials urged the justices to instrumentality up the lawsuit due to the fact that they accidental the rulings complicate their efforts to wide structure encampments, which person agelong existed successful West Coast cities, but person much precocious go much communal crossed the U.S. The national number of stateless radical reached 580,000 past year, driven by a deficiency of affordable housing, a pandemic that economically wrecked households, and a deficiency of entree to intelligence wellness and addiction treatment.

Homeless radical and their advocates accidental the sweeps are cruel and a discarded of payer money. They accidental the reply is much housing, not crackdowns.

Cities from Los Angeles to New York person stepped up efforts to wide encampments, records reviewed by The Associated Press show, arsenic nationalist unit grew to code what immoderate residents accidental are unsafe and unsanitary surviving conditions. But contempt tens of millions of dollars spent successful caller years, determination appears to beryllium small simplification successful the fig of tents propped up connected sidewalks, successful parks and by freeway off-ramps.

It's unclear whether the lawsuit volition beryllium argued successful the outpouring oregon the fall.