< The Supreme Court says cities can punish people for sleeping in public places

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

We're following news from the Supreme Court, which just issued opinions that limit obstruction charges against January 6 rioters and the government's regulatory powers. More on those in just a bit. Right now we're going to take a deeper look at a different opinion that also came down just a bit ago about homelessness.

The high court made it easier for cities to fine and arrest people for sleeping in public places. The decision, a 6-3 split along ideological lines, comes as cities struggle with record rates of homelessness. NPR's Jennifer Ludden joins us now, and she's covering all this. Hi. Good morning.

JENNIFER LUDDEN, BYLINE: Good morning.

FADEL: So this case was brought by a small city in Oregon, Grants Pass, but there's a lot at stake in many other places. What changes now?

LUDDEN: Well, lower courts had ruled it is cruel and unusual to punish people for sleeping outside if they have nowhere else to go. And that has meant that if a city wanted to clear out a tent encampment, it had to first offer people a shelter bed. And a lot of places don't have nearly enough of those. Local officials had argued this hamstrung their efforts to keep public spaces safe and open for everyone. And now the Supreme Court has agreed.

Writing for the majority, Justice Gorsuch said, look, homelessness is complex. Its causes are many. But he said federal judges don't have any special competence to tell cities how to deal with it. In her dissent, Justice Sotomayor said this focused only on the needs of cities but not the country's most vulnerable. She said, look, sleeping is a biological necessity, and this leaves homeless people with an impossible choice - stay awake or be arrested.

One important thing to note, this only changes current law in the Ninth Circuit - that's nine Western states - and it is where the bulk of America's unhoused population lives. But it will also certainly influence policy around the country.

FADEL: Right. Those nine Western states include California, where, like you say, the bulk of America's unhoused population lives. Say more about that, though. What does this ruling actually mean on the ground?

LUDDEN: Well, the decision could allow cities nationwide to effectively ban people from sleeping in public spaces pretty much anywhere, any time, even if there is no shelter bed in that community for them. Local officials have argued that having this kind of power could help them clear out spaces. And they hope this greater threat of, you know, possible arrest or fines will persuade more people to accept what shelter is available 'cause that has been a real source of frustration. You know, a lot of people, they don't want to go to a shelter if they can't take their pet with them or if it maybe bans drugs or alcohol.

Now, on the other side, advocates for the unhoused worry that cities are going to use this new power to just push people out of town. Diane Yentel heads the National Low Income Housing Coalition. She says in the Oregon city that brought this case, the city council president had said publicly that the whole point was to make it uncomfortable so people moved on.

DIANE YENTEL: Where do people experiencing homelessness go if every community decides to punish them for their homelessness?

LUDDEN: So she and others say that saddling people with fines or a criminal record will only make it even harder for them to eventually get into housing.

FADEL: Now, we talked about the record rates of homelessness right now. What, if anything, does today's Supreme Court decision mean for this larger problem?

LUDDEN: It is probably not going to do much at all. Even if some cities can get people into temporary shelters, we have a severe national shortage of affordable permanent housing. That has helped drive up rents, which experts say is a key reason that people are losing their housing. And the solution is to build much, much more housing. And that is just going to take years.

FADEL: NPR's Jennifer Ludden. Thank you, Jennifer.

LUDDEN: Thank you.

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