September 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 29

After Martin, similar suits proliferated
against Western cities
within the Ninth Circuit wherein
federal courts had applied Martin
to impose injunctions against enforcement
of laws and ordinances
restricting camping in public spaces.
City of Grants Pass
Camping Ordinances
One such Martin
addition, violations of those orders
could constitute criminal trespass,
punishable by a maximum of 30
days in prison and a $1,250 fine. Ore.
Rev. Stat. §§164.245, 161.615(3),
161.635(1)(c) (2023).
The City of Grants Pass had
traditionally taken
a light-touch
injunction had
been issued by a federal district court
against the City of Grants Pass. Located
on the banks of the Rogue River
in southwestern Oregon, the city
is home to roughly 38,000 people.
Among them are an estimated 600
individuals who experience homelessness
on a given day.
Like
many American cities,
Grants Pass has laws restricting
camping in public spaces. One
such ordinance prohibited sleeping
" on public sidewalks, streets, or alleyways. "
Grants Pass Municipal
Code §5.61.020(A) (2023). A second
ordinance prohibited " camping "
on public property. §5.61.030.
" Camping " was defined in the
ordinance as " setting up or remaining
in or at a campsite. " A " campsite "
was defined as " any place
where bedding, sleeping bags, or
other material used for bedding
purposes, or any stove or fire is
placed for the purpose of maintaining
a temporary place to live. "
§§5.61.010(A)-(B). A third law
prohibited " camping " and " overnight
parking " in the city's parks.
§§6.46.090(A)-(B).
Penalties for violating these ordinances
escalated stepwise. An
initial violation may trigger a fine.
§§1.36.010(I)-(J). Those who received
multiple citations could be
subject to an order barring them from
city parks for 30 days. §6.46.350. In
approach to enforcement. Neither
of the named plaintiffs in this case
had been subjected to an order barring
them from city property or
to criminal trespass charges. The
city's officers had been directed " to
provide law enforcement services
to all members of the community
while protecting the rights, dignity,
and private property of the homeless. "
Officers were further
instructed
that " homelessness is not
a crime " and were " encouraged " to
render " aid " and " support " to the
homeless whenever possible.
Grants Pass Homeless
Lawsuit
Following the decision of the Ninth
Circuit in Martin, two homeless individuals,
Plaintiffs Gloria Johnson
and John Logan (Plaintiffs), filed
suit in federal district court challenging
the city's public-camping
laws. On behalf of " all involuntarily
homeless people living in Grants
Pass, " Plaintiffs claimed the city's
ordinances violated the Eighth
Amendment's Cruel and Unusual
Punishments Clause.
Applying
the
the
Ninth
Circuit's
reasoning in Martin, the federal
district court enjoined (i.e., prohibited)
its
public-camping
city
from enforcing
laws against
the homeless. In so doing, the district
court found everyone without
shelter in Grants Pass was " involuntarily
homeless " because the
city's
total homeless population
outnumbered its " practically available "
shelter beds. According to
the district court, none of the beds
at Grants Pass' charity-run shelter
qualified
as " available, " because
the shelter has rules requiring residents
to abstain from smoking and
attend religious services.
On appeal,
the Ninth Circuit
affirmed the district court, finding
all unsheltered individuals in
Grants Pass qualified as " involuntarily
homeless, " because the city's
homeless
population
exceeded
" available " shelter beds. Further,
under Martin, the federal appeals
court held the Grants Pass homeless
could not be punished for
camping with " rudimentary forms
of protection from the elements, "
like blankets and bedding.
The City of Grants Pass filed
a writ of certiorari in the United
States Supreme Court, petitioning
for review of this Ninth Circuit decision.
A large number of states,
cities and counties from across the
Ninth Circuit and the country filed
amicus (friend of the court) briefs,
joining the City of Grants Pass in
urging the U.S. Supreme Court to
grant review and " assess the Martin
experiment. "
The Supreme
Court granted the review request.
Addressing the
Homelessness Crisis
As characterized by the Supreme
Court, Martin had thwarted good
faith attempts by cities across the
West, from Phoenix to Sacramento,
to address homelessness:
Many cities across the American
West face a homelessness crisis.
The causes are varied and complex,
the appropriate public policy
responses perhaps no less so. Like
many local governments, the City
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September 2024 – Parks & Recreation

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