SCOTUS poised to overturn ruling that declares homeless encampments a legal right

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WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court seemed ready to let cities crack down on homeless encampments, after Monday arguments in which conservative justices questioned lower-court findings that ordinances restricting sleeping in public amounted to unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment.

The Oregon city of Grants Pass outlaws sleeping in cars parked on the street or in public parks with a blanket, but has no shelter able to accommodate the hundreds of homeless people who live within its limits. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction covers much of the Western U.S., found such measures effectively criminalized homelessness, violating Eighth Amendment precedent that forbids punishing people for their status rather than actions. Under that view, courts in the Ninth Circuit have issued injunctions that limit cities’ enforcement of such ordinances.

But on Monday, members of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority suggested that the Ninth Circuit’s approach, which cities argue has hamstrung their efforts to address homelessness, intruded on the discretion local officials need to govern their communities.

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