Supreme Court Upholds Unhoused Sleeping Ban

In a decision that will likely have major ripple effects on housing and homelessness policy across the nation, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city of Grants Pass, Oregon in a case that hinges on unhoused people’s right to sleep outside. 

As Jennifer Ludden explains in an article for NPR, “The justices, in a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, overturned lower court rulings that deemed it cruel and unusual under the Eighth Amendment to punish people for sleeping outside if they had nowhere else to go.”

The justices, in a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, overturned lower court rulings that deemed it cruel and unusual under the Eighth Amendment to punish people for sleeping outside if they had nowhere else to go.

According to Ludden, “Today’s ruling only changes current law in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes California and eight other Western states where the bulk of America’s unhoused population lives. But it will also determine whether similar policies elsewhere are permissible; and it will almost certainly influence homelessness policy in cities around the country.”

Advocates around the country are decrying the Grants Pass v. Johnson decision. In a statement, Rafa Sonnenfeld, Policy Director at YIMBY Action and YIMBY Law, said, “This decision will prevent people from sheltering themselves when they have no alternatives in their community; and it will create more barriers to their ability to access resources they need while on a path to being securely housed.” Laura Foote, Executive Director at YIMBY Action, added that the ruling will do nothing to address the root causes of rising homelessness rates, saying, “Only homes can end homelessness.”