04.03.2024

Relman Colfax has filed an amicus brief on behalf of 226 services providers (“Amici”) in support of Plaintiffs-Respondents in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, the most significant case involving homelessness to reach the U.S. Supreme Court in several decades. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had previously held that the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment” bars an Oregon town from punishing involuntarily homeless people from sleeping in public even when they have nowhere else to go. Plaintiffs-Respondents argue that by making it unlawful for homeless people to rest or sleep outside at any time or place, the City of Grants Pass criminalizes their existence within city limits, an unconstitutional punishment based on involuntary status. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on April 22, 2024.

Describing Amici as “the first responders in our nation’s current homelessness crisis,” the Firm’s brief outlines the grossly disproportionate penalties that Grants Pass imposes on people experiencing homelessness and how such punitive actions exact life-altering penalties that prolong their homelessness. The brief further argues that criminalizing involuntary homelessness is “constitutionally indefensible” because it serves no “legitimate penological goals.”

The brief also highlights the work of leading services providers like Pathways to Housing DC, Community Solutions, and Open Table Nashville in developing effective strategies for reducing homelessness and getting local governments to implement them without resorting to punitive measures. These include the Housing First model (providing permanent supportive housing without preconditions) and wraparound services to address the myriad issues necessary to keep people stably housed. The brief describes how many of these proactive measures have been more effective in addressing health and safety concerns and less expensive than the punitive approach taken by Grants Pass.

Out of a concern that “policing and criminalizing homelessness worsen homelessness,” Amici close their brief by offering to work with Grants Pass and other municipalities to implement best practices that are more effective in addressing the root causes of homelessness.

The Amicus brief can be found here.

The Relman Colfax case team is led by Valerie Comenencia Ortiz and Lila Miller, with paralegal assistance from Esmeralda Hermosillo.

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