{"id":72,"date":"2023-08-12T17:46:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-12T17:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-singer\/?p=72"},"modified":"2024-01-09T18:31:19","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T18:31:19","slug":"eighth-amendment-prohibits-punishing-homeless-people-for-using-bedding-supplies-like-blankets-pillows-or-sleeping-bags-while-sleeping-on-public-lands-when-there-are-no-available-shelter-beds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-singer\/2023\/08\/12\/eighth-amendment-prohibits-punishing-homeless-people-for-using-bedding-supplies-like-blankets-pillows-or-sleeping-bags-while-sleeping-on-public-lands-when-there-are-no-available-shelter-beds\/","title":{"rendered":"Eighth Amendment prohibits punishing homeless people for using bedding supplies like blankets, pillows, or sleeping bags while sleeping on public lands when there are no available shelter beds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a straightforward application of the ruling in Martin v. City of Boise, 902 F.3d 1031 (9th Cir. 2018), the Ninth Circuit held that an Oregon city could not punish homeless people for \u201ccamping\u201d on public property and using bedding supplies, such as blankets or pillows or sleeping bags, while doing so, when there were no available beds in city homeless shelters. Johnson v. City of Grants Pass,<\/a> 50 F.4th 868 (9th Cir. 2023). The Eighth Amendment prohibits punishing someone for engaging in actions like sleeping that are necessary to human life when there is no place where they are legally entitled to do those things. Punishing someone in such circumstances effectively penalizes them for the status of being homeless and that violates rule of law norms. \u201cThe anti-camping ordinances [here] prohibit Plaintiffs from engaging in activity they cannot avoid,\u201d the court explained. Nor can the city avoid this by criminalizing \u201cusing bedding materials\u201d to sleep while decriminalizing sleeping itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A slew of dissenting judges would have required individualized proof of involuntariness rather than a class action claim, as was allowed by the majority. The majority rejected that interpretation of the relevant Supreme Court precedents. The court concluded: \u201cWe affirm the district court’s ruling that the City of Grants Pass cannot, consistent with the Eighth Amendment, enforce its anti-camping ordinances against homeless persons for the mere act of sleeping outside with rudimentary protection from the elements, or for sleeping in their car at night, when there is no other place in the City for them to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

Homelessness<\/a>, <\/span>Trespass<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a straightforward application of the ruling in Martin v. City of Boise, 902 F.3d 1031 (9th Cir. 2018), the Ninth Circuit held that an Oregon city could not punish homeless people for \u201ccamping\u201d on public property and using bedding supplies, such as blankets or pillows or sleeping bags, while doing so, when there were no available beds in city homeless shelters. Johnson v. City of Grants Pass, 50 F.4th 868 (9th Cir. 2023). The Eighth Amendment prohibits punishing someone for engaging in actions like sleeping that are necessary to human life when there is no place where they are legally entitled to do those things. Punishing someone in such circumstances effectively penalizes them for the status of being homeless and that violates rule of law norms. \u201cThe anti-camping ordinances [here] prohibit Plaintiffs from engaging in activity they cannot avoid,\u201d the court explained. Nor can the city avoid this by criminalizing \u201cusing …<\/p>\n

Eighth Amendment prohibits punishing homeless people for using bedding supplies like blankets, pillows, or sleeping bags while sleeping on public lands when there are no available shelter beds<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homelessness","category-trespass"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"jsinger","author_link":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-singer\/author\/jsinger\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-singer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-singer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-singer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-singer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-singer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-singer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-singer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-singer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/joseph-singer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}