Summary
The Supreme Court heard the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson on Monday. The appeals court ruled that the Constitution prohibits the prosecution of indigent people who sleep in public places when there is no available shelter space. The court's decision was rooted in a 1962 Supreme Court case called Robinson v. California.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson came out swinging. The real question in Grants Pass is not whether the Supreme Court will side with the town. The question is how much damage it’ll do to the Eighth Amendment along the way.
Justices Alito, Thomas and Alito seemed ready to trash the concept of distinction between status and conduct. But Kelsi B. Corkran provided a shrewd and lucid defense of the 9th Circuit’s decision. She linked the case to a long tradition limiting states’ power to criminalize “social problems like poverty.
