FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 28, 2024
Contact:
Tina Pinedo, DREDF Communications Director, media@dredf.org
BERKELEY, CA — In a deeply disturbing 6-3 opinion, the United States Supreme Court today ruled that fining and jailing people experiencing homelessness for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go is not unconstitutional.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, wrote for the majority that ordinances criminalizing sleeping on public property—even when there is no alternative shelter available—do not violate the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause of the 8th Amendment. That clause, the majority concluded, focuses on the “method or kind of punishment” a government may impose after a criminal conviction, not on whether a government may criminalize conduct in the first place. And “limited” civil fines, bans from public property, and maximum jail sentences of 30 days are neither cruel nor unusual.
The majority rejected the plaintiff’s claim that ordinances banning people from sleeping in public, if there is no alternative shelter available, criminalize the “status” of being homeless. The majority also rejected plaintiff’s argument that the ordinances in question violate the Constitution by criminalizing behavior—sleeping—that is involuntary.
In a passionate dissent, Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, disagreed. “Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime. For some people, sleeping outside is their only option. The City of Grants Pass jails and fines those people for sleeping anywhere in public at any time, including in their cars, if they use as little as a blanket to keep warm or a rolled-up shirt as a pillow. For people with no access to shelter, that punishes them for being homeless. That is unconscionable and unconstitutional.”
“Today’s opinion is extraordinarily disappointing,” said Michelle Uzeta, Deputy Legal Director at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF). “The Supreme Court has given municipalities the green light to continue making criminalization their primary, frontline response to homelessness, when what we need are housing-based solutions.”
The Supreme Court’s opinion will have a particularly devastating impact on the disability community. As explained in a friend-of-the-court brief filed in April 2024 by DREDF and the international law firm O’Melveny & Myers, people with disabilities are at higher risk of experiencing homelessness than non-disabled people and are over-represented in unhoused populations due to rising housing costs, the inaccessibility of housing stock, deep-rooted stigmas, and widespread discrimination.
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision, DREDF joins national advocates in calling on the Biden administration and Congress to take immediate action to ensure that everyone has a safe, affordable, and accessible place to call home. Specifically, we ask for:
- Universal rental assistance for lowest-income households;
- Repair and preservation of public housing;
- Full funding for the National Housing Trust Fund;
- Homelessness prevention, including outreach, engagement, and rapid re-housing;
- Eviction prevention, including emergency rental assistance;
- Funding for supportive and emergency services;
- Increased investment in fair housing enforcement;
- Laws that make punishing people for being homeless illegal.
DREDF extends its gratitude to the advocates and academics who signed on to their amicus brief opposing the criminalization of people experiencing homelessness in Grants Pass. Despite today’s opinion, we know that housing and support services are most effective in reducing homelessness, and we will continue our work to ensure that everyone has access to the housing they need to thrive.
About Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) is a leading national civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities and parents who have children with disabilities. Founded in 1979, DREDF works to advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development. Learn more at dredf.org.