Monday will be a big day in the Rogue Valley.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case out of Grants Pass regarding criminalizing sleeping in public spaces.
Cities around the country have been paying close attention to this case and the City of San Diego even joined the lawsuit.
Martin v. Boise and Grants Pass v. Johnson have prevented cities from punishing people for sleeping in public spaces when they have nowhere else to go, like a low barrier shelter.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a re-hearing of the case last year.
This comes after the court ruled against the City of Grants Pass in 2022.
The ruling ordered the City of Grants Pass to cease enforcing its ban on homeless people sleeping on public property.
Ed Johnson, the lead counsel for the respondents in the case, said it hinges on whether cities should be able to prioritize criminalization over solutions.
Johnson said, “criminalization of our neighbors that have been forced to live outside, is not a solution. It’s very expensive, it wastes limited resources.”
Grants Pass City Attorney Augustus Ogu said, “in effect, the federal courts have wrestled control away from local cities to deal with homelessness in their own individual ways and it’s something that probably needs to be dealt with through the democratic process.”
Johnson said every court that has heard the case has ruled against Grants Pass so far.
The Supreme Court will convene at 10 a.m. eastern time on Monday.
The court has allotted 65 minutes for arguments on the case.
The ruling wouldn’t be expected until June or July.
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