The drama of being “homeless” in the United States reaches all the way to the Supreme Court

A lawsuit involving the camps is gaining momentum homeless people which will go before the U.S. Supreme Court next month and could have major implications for cities as homelessness across the country has reached record levels.

In recent days, dozens of briefs have been submitted by the Justice Department, members of Congress and state attorneys general, among others. They joined the growing number of state officials and citizens in the West who have filed briefs urging the justices to overturn a controversial lower court ruling that they say it prevents them from solving the problem of homeless encampments.

In 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, whose jurisdiction covers nine Western states, ruled that it was it is unconstitutional to punish “involuntarily homeless” people to sleep outdoors if there are not enough beds in the shelters. The Martin v. Boise ruled that this would violate the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.

Social justice advocates have long supported that ruling based on the idea that homeless people should not be punished, although human rights groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have not yet filed briefs on the case. Many Western officials, on the other hand, say the ruling has prevented them from addressing the problem of increased camping on trails, parks and other public places.

The United States saw a dramatic increase last year 12% in the number of homeless people that reached its highest level on record, according to a federal report, as rising rents and a reduction in assistance due to the coronavirus pandemic combined to put housing out of reach for more Americans. According to the January 2023 count, about 653,000 people were homeless, the highest number since the country began using the annual survey in 2007.

More than half of the country’s homeless were in four states: California and Washington, both under the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit, plus New York and Florida. According to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development report, approximately 28% of the country’s homeless population is found in California alone.

The Supreme Court case was brought from Grants Pass, a small town located in the mountains of southern Oregon that was barred by court orders (citing Martin v. Boise) from enforcing local ordinances prohibiting sleeping and camping in parks and public property. In its application, Grants Pass stated this along with other cities “They have their hands tied when it comes to performing in front of public fields”.

The case has prompted city, county and state officials across the West, both Democrats and Republicans, and increasingly national officials, to intervene.

In a brief filed Monday that supports neither side, the Justice Department said the 9th Circuit was correct in finding that ordinances punishing people for sleeping outdoors where there wasn’t enough room in shelters were unconstitutional. but he “erred” in applying the ruling to all homeless people “without requiring a more detailed inquiry into the circumstances of the persons to whom such orders might apply.”

“The court refused to decide what showing is necessary to determine that a person is involuntarily homeless. This was a mistake,” Justice Department officials, including Attorney General Elizabeth Prelogar and Deputy Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke, wrote in the filing.

The Justice Department asked the justices to reject the Ninth Circuit’s decision and send it back to lower courts for review.

Also on Monday, six members of the House of Representatives, including Rep. Cliff Bentz, whose Oregon district includes Grants Pass, and five lawmakers representing California, They filed a brief in support of the petition. Lawmakers said the Ninth Circuit ruling “makes it virtually impossible” for municipalities to combat crime that can occur near the camps.

A coalition of 24 Republican attorneys general led by Montana and Idaho also recently supported the Grants Pass request.

“The Ninth Circuit cannot solve homelessness and should not try. They are the States and the Municipalities those who have the local knowledge needed to address the problem, and it is the states and municipalities who ultimately bear the costs of homelessness and homelessness policies,” they wrote.

Although the ACLU did not file a brief, the Northern California chapter expressed concern about the case after the high court announced it would hear the case in January, saying it could “change the definition of cruel and unusual punishment that protects Americans, the homeless or the homeless.” homeless, from unconstitutional treatment in the penal system”.

The justices are expected to hear their oral arguments on April 22.

AP Agency