UPDATE: Supreme Court to hear Grants Pass homeless case

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — We reported earlier this week and a little over a month ago that the U.S. Supreme Court will begin to hear the case against the City of Grants Pass and their policies when it comes to the homeless population.

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.

Now the City of San Diego has joined Grants Pass in the lawsuit. California Governor Gavin Newsom is among a number of Democratic lawmakers hoping the conservative Supreme Court will side with them.

Ed Johnson who represents Grants Pass homeless residents says lawmakers like Newsom are siding with the city for political reasons, after pressure from their own voters fed up with rising homelessness.

Grants Pass wants to make it illegal on every inch of property 24 hours a day. The problem is if that’s allowed, many cities will simply try to run all of the homeless people out of their community and they have to go somewhere.

Grants Pass argues that court decisions have effectively tied the city’s hands. The Supreme Court will hear the case on April 22.