The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Friday that evicting homeless people from encampments and jailing them for repeatedly violating anti-camping laws is not “cruel and unusual punishment” under the Eighth Amendment.
of case, City of Grants Pass v. JohnsonThe move has drawn attention from local government leaders across the country who are addressing homelessness, particularly in Los Angeles, California, where the homeless population continues to grow.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion, sympathized with the homeless and acknowledged that the problem is complex and difficult to solve, but said that laws banning encampments are “commonplace” and that the Eighth Amendment is “insufficient to condemn” them. The proper forum for addressing homelessness is democratically elected governments, not federal courts.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the court’s decision “disappointing” as the city struggles to address homeless camps.
Today’s Supreme Court decision should not be used as an excuse for cities across the country to try to get away with this problem through arrests or to hide their homeless problems in neighboring cities and prisons.
Neither of them work, and neither of them will save your life. pic.twitter.com/KdwLhu2L7b
— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) June 28, 2024
Bass’ strategy – to move homeless people into motels and hotels and charge taxpayers for them – has had limited success and, while it has benefited some, it has increased the homeless population.
In April, Mayor Bass appealed to the city’s wealthy residents to donate assets to help the homeless. Los Angeles County is seeking a voter referendum to increase sales tax on homeless services from 25 cents to a half-cent.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent: “Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime. For some, sleeping outdoors is their only option. The City of Grants Pass jails and fines people who sleep anywhere, anytime in public places, including in their cars, even if they are just using a blanket for warmth or a rolled-up shirt for a pillow. For those without shelter, it is a punishment for being homeless. This is unjust and unconstitutional.”
This incident City of Grants Pass v. JohnsonNo. 23-175, U.S. Supreme Court.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of a new biography, Roda: “Comrade Kadariye, you are disrupting order.”He recently published an e-book titled ” Not Free or Fair: The 2020 US Presidential ElectionHe is the recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship in 2018. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
