Supreme Court to reconsider ruling over Grants Pass homeless camping ordinances

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Just six months ago, an appeals court declined to revisit a decision that restricted Grants Pass’ ability to prohibit homeless residents from sleeping in public spaces. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court has announced that it will review the ruling.

In September 2022, residents went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to challenge Grants Pass officials’ decision to ban the homeless population from public camping. Court documents said the city enforced five ordinances against it, with financial penalties for anyone who violated them.

The federal appeals court found that the city ordinances went against the Eighth Amendment’s cruel and unusual punishment clause. The judges based their ruling on the 2018 Martin v. City of Boise case, which also cited the Eighth Amendment.

Later in July 2023, the court of appeals once again upheld their prior decision.

District Court Judge Roslyn Silver and Circuit Judge Ronald Gould argued their ruling didn’t offer homeless residents the “unrestrained right” to “sleep anything they choose,” although it did prohibit local governments from criminalizing public camping.

The judge panel also said Grants Pass didn’t offer enough shelter beds to serve its homeless population.

But on Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider the camping bans once more.

The City of Grants Pass declined to comment on the looming review. However, its attorneys released a statement saying that the prior rulings have only “contributed to the growing problem of encampments” in West Coast cities.

“These decisions are legally wrong and have tied the hands of local governments as they work to address the urgent homelessness crisis,” Theane Evangelis, the Gibson Dunn lawyer representing Grants Pass, said. “The tragedy is that these decisions are actually harming the very people they purport to protect.”

Evangelis said the Supreme Court case will be argued in the spring.