Liberal and conservative justices on the Supreme Court appeared to be split Monday on a major case dealing with homelessness—and with a conservative majority on the court, it appears poised to rule in favor of allowing cities to make their own rules. The case involves a challenge to a law in Grants Pass, Oregon, which fined people $295 for camping on public property or sleeping outside or in cars, with jail sentences for repeat offenders. Critics said the law criminalized homelessness. In 2022, a federal appeals court panel said city ordinances violated the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment, NBC News reports. A decision is expected by late June.
- Arguments. Lawyers for Grants Pass argued that the homelessness crisis "is a significant challenge for communities large and small throughout the nation" and the solution should not be to "place the federal courts in charge of this pressing social problem," the Washington Post reports. They said encampments and associated problems, including violent crime, have multiplied in the nine Western states covered by the appeal's court ruling, including California. Attorneys for homeless people who challenged the law said local authorities can still regulate or clear encampments—but they can't punish people when no shelter beds are available and they have nowhere else to go.