Mia McCall/Daily Emerald
On April 22, the U.S. Supreme Court heard what is expected to be a landmark ruling regarding whether fining, ticketing or jailing someone for sleeping outside when they have no other place to go is “cruel and unusual punishment,” and therefore unconstitutional under the 8th Amendment.
The case, City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, stems from a long-running legal battle in Grants Pass, Oregon, a city approximately 140 miles south of Eugene. The case dates back to 2018 when the city was sued by homeless advocates for issuing tickets to people sleeping outside, even though the city only had one shelter, the Gospel Rescue Mission.
One of the leading arguments against Grants Pass in the Supreme Court case has been its potential infringement of the 8th Amendment, which states “excessive bail should not be imposed, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.”
In 2013, Grants Pass began to issue fines — sometimes up to $300 — to people sleeping outside. The cost of the fine would then double if it went unpaid. The city also threatened to arrest individuals for trespassing after their second offense.
In arguments before the Supreme Court, attorneys for Grants Pass argued that punishing people for outdoor sleeping was necessary to maintaining public health and safety.
“Laws like ours, they really do serve an essential purpose,” Theane Evangelis, an attorney for Grants Pass, said before the court. “They protect the health and safety of everyone. It is not safe to live in encampments. It’s unsanitary, we see what’s happening and there are the harms of the encampments on those in them and outside.”
However, some opponents of the Grants Pass laws argue that the fines are an attempt to push homeless people out of the city. Homeless advocates have cited a statement from 2013 where City Council President Lily Morgan seemed to cite a different reason for implementing the new laws.
“The point is to make it uncomfortable enough for them in our city so they will want to move on down the road,” Morgan said during a 2013 city council meeting.
While the Supreme Court’s official ruling is not expected to be decided until late June, some observers believe that the court is leaning in favor of siding with Grants Pass. Such a ruling could potentially create a legal precedent for cities around the country, including Eugene, to take similar action to Grants Pass by fining people who sleep outside.
Kelly McIver, communications manager for Eugene’s unhoused response, commented on the current laws of sleeping outdoors and the possibility of the Grants Pass case affecting laws in Eugene.
“Essentially, there is no citation or anything like that,” McIver said. “People aren’t arrested.”
Currently, Eugene restrictions on camping or sleeping outside follow state laws, specifically ORS 195.500. This law gives directives for city officials when camping poses a safety risk such as camps erected in the public right of way or on streets.
“When there is some sort of camping that is not allowed by city code, the process for that is usually, if it is reported to the city, there will be a response to that to take a look at the situation,” McIver said.
Once a report has been filed, the city will send an official to post a notice in the area following state law. Workers from street cleaning agencies remove and impound property found at the location.
According to McIver, the city’s clean-up response typically occurs from between 72 hours to one week from the time an official notice has been issued.
“Intervention from law enforcement is sometimes necessary to address public safety and health or equitable access in specific situations,” McIver said, “But our community needs more shelter, more housing and more support services to give people a realistic chance to stabilize and prosper.”
Amber Fitts, a Eugene resident and member of the homeless community, voiced her thoughts on the Grants Pass case.
“If this goes through there will be so many of us out there who will be affected by that,” Fitts said.
Fitts described her daily life living without a home as a challenge for myriad reasons. These reasons included the few widespread resources available for shelter, bathing or addressing mental health needs.
Fitts described facing challenges with crime as well.
“I’ve had my stuff stolen repeatedly, to where I have to start all over again,” Fitts said.
According to Fitts, for those living as homeless or unsheltered, the challenges they encounter daily would worsen with interventions from police and the city.
“You want to fine us for trespassing or for illegal camping and bring us to court,” Fitts said. “We’re homeless and have no income and can’t pay our fines.”
Jetty, an advocate for the homeless community who goes by an alias for personal protection, spoke on the consequences of the possible ruling in June and the ostensible lack of services in Lane County.
“If I am using my imagination they will go to jail, which is going to cost taxpayers money,” Jetty said. “There’s not enough shelter space. It doesn’t make sense. There’s not enough sheltering. There’s not enough housing. Where do they go? That is cruel and unusual.”
According to Eugene resident and member of the homeless community Josh Gebhart Trempe, the criminalization of sleeping on the street would “exacerbate” the issues homeless individuals already face.
“It becomes intensely difficult,” Gebhart Trempe said when asked about the process of incarceration. “On top of that you have no great place to keep paperwork, to keep your cell phone charged [and] your modes of transportation are usually limited to walking or a bike.”
Tim Black, emergency response coordinator at St. Vincent De Paul, shared his perspective on the issue.
“Studies show that homelessness is directly tied to a lack of affordable housing options in a community,” Black said. “It’s not about how much mental health [services], it’s not about how much substance abuse [and] it’s not about if you have good programs to help the homeless… It’s about how much housing you have in your community.”
For Black and unhoused community members, the issue of homelessness seems to be able to be resolved by providing affordable housing and housing assistance.
“We did not get here overnight and we are not going to solve this overnight,” Black said. “I am still convinced that the absolute cheapest thing we can do for taxpayers using the least of their money if we did it right is also the most compassionate thing and that is to provide some basic housing on all basic levels.”
