The justices left in place a 2018 ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that fining or jailing homeless people for staying outside or in unauthorized places if a bed at an emergency shelter is not available is unconstitutional. The city had appealed that ruling, arguing that the decision threatened public health and safety.
U.S. cities have struggled over the years with how to address the issue of homelessness, putting in place various local laws.
The case centered on two Boise ordinances that prohibited camping or “disorderly conduct” by lodging or sleeping in public. The city said it needed to enforce the ordinances to prevent the formation of encampments that can lead to unsanitary conditions and crimes such as drug dealing and gang activity, and to keep public spaces accessible for residents, visitors and wildlife.
Six current or former homeless Boise residents who were prosecuted under the ordinances – Robert Martin, Robert Anderson, Lawrence Lee Smith, Basil Humphrey, Janet Bell and Pamela Hawkes – sued the city in federal court in 2009, arguing that the laws violated their constitutional rights.