Supreme Court to weigh whether bans targeting homeless encampments run afoul of the Constitution

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CBS News

April 18, 2024 / 12:16 PM EDT


Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday will weigh arguments in a case involving the homeless and bans on where they may sleep, the most significant one on the issue in decades. The dispute involves whether laws that punish homeless people with civil citations for camping on public property are outside the bounds of the Constitution.

Cities have been searching for ways to address homeless encampments that they say threaten public health and safety, as the nation confronts a spike in homelessness driven in part by high housing costs and the end of COVID aid programs. A decision will shed light on how far city and state officials can go to address homeless encampments and is likely to reach beyond the borders of the Oregon city at the center of the dispute.

There were 256,000 unsheltered people in the U.S. on a given night in 2023, according to a December report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Homelessness rose 12% from 2022 to 2023, its highest level since tracking began in 2007, the report found, as housing prices soared and pandemic-era assistance programs expired.

"This is the most important Supreme Court case about homelessness in at least 40 years, and the results will be tremendous," said Jesse Rabinowitz, communications and campaign director at the National Homelessness Law Center, during a call with reporters. "This will either make it easier for cities to punish people for sleeping outside while failing to provide them shelter or housing, just like they did in Grants Pass, or it will push cities to fund actual solutions to homelessness."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-homeless-encampments-constitution/

[GB_RN]

1. I Can Predict Two Votes Right Now...

Both Scammy Alito and Clarence “Uncle Slappy” Thomas are solid locks on voting to uphold these laws. And their opinion(s) written almost sadistically. Scammy will probably cite some Medieval “legal” dipshit, as if that should have any bearing on modern, common law-based society.

These two can go fuck themselves.

[Polybius]

4. Maybe even 7-2

Or unanimous.

[maxsolomon]

2. It will impact Boise v. Martin, too.

BvM says that cities can't clear homeless encampments unless they can offer the campers housing.

It's led to an absolute explosion of homelessness in the 9th circuit.

[TexasBushwhacker]

3. I wonder if that 256K includes people living in their vehicles

I'm guessing probably not, because they aren't sleeping outside. Then there are the folks, including families, living in long term motels, scraping together rent one week at a time.

Did you see "Nomadland"? It may have been fiction, but there are thousands living like that, many of them senior citizens. #Vanlife is real and it includes people with full time jobs.

[cstanleytech]

5. No one should ever be forced to be homeless and the problem can simply be solved by providing homes.

Free for people that literally cannot work and a temporary one for people while other assistance is provided to allow them to eventually move out and build a life.