Justice Department says that punishing homeless for sleeping outside is 'cruel and unusual'
A small legal case in Boise, Idaho, could have big implications in cities across the country: Last week, the Department of Justice determined that Boise's laws against sleeping or camping in public places were unconstitutional, The Washington Post reports. From the DOJ's filing:
When adequate shelter space exists, individuals have a choice about whether or not to sleep in public. However, when adequate shelter space does not exist, there is no meaningful distinction between the status of being homeless and the conduct of sleeping in public. Sleeping is a life-sustaining activity — i.e., it must occur at some time in some place. If a person literally has nowhere else to go, then enforcement of the anti-camping ordinance against that person criminalizes her for being homeless. [The Washington Post]
Prosecuting public sleeping, then, the Justice Department argues, constitutes a "cruel and unusual punishment," and is in violation of the 8th amendment.
"Homelessness never left town because somebody gave it a ticket," Eric Tars, a senior attorney for the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, told The Washington Post. "The only way to end homelessness is to make sure everybody has access to affordable, decent housing."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Thirty-four percent of 187 cities surveyed by NLCHP last year had laws banning camping in public, while 43 percent prohibited sleeping in vehicles and 53 percent prevented people from sitting or lying down in particular public spaces. On an average night, there are 153,000 unsheltered homeless in the United States.
