<p>In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Grants Pass, Ore., in the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson, upholding the small city’s ability to ban sleeping in public parks, on sidewalks or in vehicles and to impose fines and jail time to enforce its law.</p>
<p>At the time, <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/news/2024/06/after-scotus-decision-wa-homeless-camping-bans-may-gain-traction” target=”_blank”>homelessness advocates in Washington expressed fear</a> that Grants Pass would lead to a domino effect of cities across the state passing new laws banning sleeping outside and making it impossible to exist anywhere as a homeless person without risk of fines and jail time. </p>
<p>Seven months after the SCOTUS ruling, that prediction hasn’t yet come to pass. But at least six Washington cities, including Aberdeen, Auburn, Kennewick, Lakewood, Richland and Spokane, have since passed new laws, modified existing laws or have begun enforcement to criminalize homelessness in the wake of the Grants Pass decision. </p>
<p>At the same time, several lawsuits are working their way through Washington courts arguing that such laws violate the state constitution. </p>
<p>In 2018, a group of homeless residents sued the city of Grants Pass, arguing that the fines and jail time violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment because there were not enough shelter spaces in town and people experiencing homelessness had no alternative but to sleep in public. </p>
<p>The lead plaintiff, Gloria Johnson, is <a href=”https://www.streetroots.org/news/2021/02/24/judge-struck-down-grants-pass-anti-camping-policy-campers-are-still-told-move-along” target=”_blank”>a retired nurse who was unable to find housing</a> she could afford on Social Security and ended up living in her minivan on the edge of town. </p>
<p>The high court’s decision in Grants Pass overturned a 2018 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Martin v. Boise. That ruling deemed Boise, Idaho in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment by enforcing public sleeping bans when no shelter space is available for people experiencing homelessness. </p>
<p>The Grants Pass ruling came down as cities across the region and U.S. grapple with record-high numbers of residents experiencing homelessness and an increasing frustration with the slow progress of getting people off the street. </p>
<p lang=”EN-US”>More restrictive local laws followed soon after. </p>
<p>Out near the Pacific coast, the <a href=”https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/changes-to-aberdeens-camping-ordinances-afoot/” target=”_blank”>city of Aberdeen modified its existing ban on public encampments</a> to eliminate the requirement that people be offered shelter before clearing an encampment. The City Council also broadened the locations where the ban applies. </p>
<p>In Auburn, <a href=”https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/auburn-strips-requirement-of-shelter-from-homeless-camping-ordinance/” target=”_blank”>the City Council took similar action in September</a> to remove the requirement that people be offered shelter before their encampment is cleared. People can now be required to leave public land immediately and be charged with a misdemeanor, with a fine up to $1,000 and 90 days in jail. </p>
<p>Kennewick, a city of 85,000 in the Tri-Cities area, also removed its requirement of a shelter offer and implemented punishment of a fine up to $1,000 and 90 days in jail. <a href=”https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article292630709.html” target=”_blank”>According to the Tri-City Herald</a>, Kennewick still requires a 72-hour notice before removing an encampment. Neighboring city Richland also <a href=”https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/politics-government/article290573504.html” target=”_blank”>strengthened its ability to enforce</a> the ban on public encampments. </p>
<p>In Lakewood, the City Council <a href=”https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/how-wa-cities-are-responding-to-the-supreme-court-homelessness-ruling/” target=”_blank”>passed a new law</a> this summer banning sleeping or camping in public. Police can now remove encampments with 24 hours notice, and people face citations or arrest if they don’t comply. </p>
<p>Spokane’s public camping ban was on the books months before the Supreme Court ruled on Grants Pass. In November 2023, about 75% of Spokane voters approved Proposition 1, which banned public camping within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and day cares. </p>
<p>City leaders dragged their feet on enforcement of the new law, however, citing the legal complications posed by Martin v. Boise. With that hurdle cleared by Grants Pass, the city <a href=”https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/aug/15/spokanes-proposition-1-is-now-being-enforced/” target=”_blank”>began enforcement in August</a>. </p>
<p>That same month, the ACLU of Washington, homelessness nonprofit Jewels Helping Hands and homeless residents Donnell Currie and Clifford Moore <a href=”https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/aug/01/suit-seeking-to-prevent-spokane-from-enforcing-ant/” target=”_blank”>filed a lawsuit</a> in Spokane Superior Court over the encampment ban. </p>
<p>“The city of Spokane’s unlawful camping law and sit-and-lie law effectively prohibits homelessness from existing within the boundary of the city,” said Jazmyn Clark, ACLU-WA’s smart justice policy program director. “By criminalizing sleeping, lying, camping outside, Spokane has effectively criminalized the conduct that is inextricable from the condition of lacking a home.” </p>
<p>The ACLU argues that Washington’s state Constitution is more protective than the U.S. Constitution. The state Constitution bans cruel punishment, as opposed to the federal Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, explained Clark. If successful, the case would have implications for Washington cities who’ve strengthened their encampment bans. </p>
<p>In Burien, Northwest Justice Project, the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness and homeless residents Elizabeth Hale, Alex Hale and Carlos Paz sued the city over a 2023 ordinance banning encampments on nearly all public property. <a href=”https://nwjustice.org/article/1929″ target=”_blank”>The suit argues</a> Burien’s ordinance is cruel and unusual and violates individuals’ right to due process. The case is ongoing. </p>
<p>The threat of additional lawsuits over encampment bans is enough to give the Washington Cities Insurance Authority pause. The municipal organization provides a liability risk pool for member cities and other government entities. In <a href=”https://www.masoncounty.com/story/2024/09/19/news/city-insurer-urges-caution-with-homeless/4490.html” target=”_blank”>an interview with the Shelton-Mason County Journal</a>, the Authority cautioned city leaders that the Grants Pass ruling on cruel and unusual punishment was narrow and that lawsuits are often very expensive. </p>
<p>Advocates have consistently argued that criminalizing homelessness is costly and counterproductive since it can make it harder for people to secure housing and get off the street. Jail time separates clients from case managers. Unpaid citations make it harder to rent apartments. Arrests and encampment sweeps often result in people losing important documents and IDs along with personal belongings. </p>
<p>“The Supreme Court’s decision is terrible because it neither recognizes the humanity of Americans housed and unhoused, nor does it offer any reasonable solutions,” said Alison Eisinger, executive director of the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness. “In addition, it gives the illusion to some cities, counties and even states that they can deploy an expensive and fake response, namely law enforcement. … It does not respond to people’s need for housing, people’s need for shelter, people’s need for health care.” </p>
<p>Instead, advocates argue that cities and states should spend their time and money building <a href=”https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/are-king-countys-homeless-shelters-full/” target=”_blank”>more shelter space</a> to provide temporary alternatives to living on the street, <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/news/2024/08/seattle-opened-1750-subsidized-affordable-apartments-2023″ target=”_blank”>more affordable housing</a> to provide a permanent alternative to homelessness and <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/news/2023/07/what-does-substance-use-treatment-seattle-actually-look” target=”_blank”>more services like substance use treatment</a> and mental health counseling to help people recover.</p>
<p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/homelessness” hreflang=”en”>Homelessness</a>, <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/law-justice” hreflang=”en”>Law & Justice</a>, <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/supreme-court” hreflang=”en”>Supreme Court</a></p>
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