WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court on Friday said laws that ban homeless people from sleeping outside were constitutional, rejecting arguments that the practice amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
The decision by the Supreme Court justices could carry high stakes. A record 653,100 people are homeless across the United States, according to a 2023 count.
The case centered around regulations in the city of Grants Pass, in the western state of Oregon, which banned camping or using any kind of bedding on public property after its public parks became filled with tents, blankets and cardboard.
Those breaking the rules face hundred-dollar fines and possible prison sentences for repeat offenders.
In a 6-3 ruling, split along right-left ideological lines, the country´s highest court said homelessness is not a status protected by the US constitution´s ban on cruel punishment.
“The Constitution´s Eighth Amendment serves many important functions, but it does not authorize federal judges to wrest those rights and responsibilities from the American people and in their place dictate this nation´s homelessness policy,” wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch in the majority opinion.