OK, let's talk about cruel and unusual punishment. The eighth amendment to the US Constitution, of course bans it and it's at the heart of a US Supreme court case that could have a huge impact on California's homelessness crisis. And justices will hear a case Monday about finding or arresting people for camping in public spaces. This is being considered the most important case about homelessness in decades. I spoke with the legal expert about what to expect and why the outcome is so important. What this case is about is whether people can be fined and or arrested for sleeping outside. Ron Hock Baum teaches at the University of the Pacific's mcgeorge School of Law and runs the homeless advocacy clinic there. He says the case going before the US Supreme Court on Monday could have major impacts. I think it's incredibly important. This is the first case that's directly related to the act of criminal law to people experiencing homelessness. The case goes back to 2009 when six unhoused people from Boise Idaho sued the city over a local ordinance that banned sleeping in public places arguing there weren't enough shelter beds in the city. In 2018, the ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals decided in their favor known as the Martin V Boise decision. The three judge panel said that while communities are allowed to prohibit tents in public spaces, it violates the eighth amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment to give people criminal citations for sleeping outside when they have no place else to go. In 2022. In a case challenging restrictions in the city of Grants Pass, Oregon. The Court of appeals expanded its 2018 ruling, holding that civil citations, not just criminal ones also can be unconstitutional. The Grants Pass ruling meant for the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals, nine states including California. It is unconstitutional to find cite or arrest someone for camping on public property. The impediments under Grants Pass and the courts have imposed. It's a real issue in a virtual news conference on Thursday. Governor Newsom reiterated his public stance that he hopes the US Supreme Court will overturn that decision or at least grant a more lenient interpretation. He recalled an encampment, he visited in Oakland needles strewn everywhere, feces everywhere, no compassion, no compassion whatsoever leaving people in those conditions when we had an alternative. But the judge was saying you can't use that alternative because of this court ruling. So uh it's very frustrating. Meanwhile, the Sacramento regional coalition to end homelessness says overturning the decision would amount to criminalizing homelessness and people's attempts to survive when we see cities move in this direction of criminalization of ticketing, citing and arresting um folks instead it, it just, it's a, it's a values question. Nikki Jones is the coalition's executive director and on the Sacramento Homeless Organizing committee, she says criminalizing homelessness keeps people in the cycle of homelessness. When you have a criminal record, it is harder to obtain housing. It's harder to obtain the necessary services. The Sacramento regional coalition to end homelessness is holding a rally at noon Monday outside the federal courthouse here in Sacramento. In 14 cities nationwide, homeless advocacy groups will be holding similar rallies on Monday. They want to urge the Supreme Court to uphold the appellate court's ruling.
