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U.S. Supreme Court Reverses Johnson v. Grants Pass

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Today, Friday, June 28th, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that will affect all cities and counties. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court reversed the 9th Circuit rulings in this and the Martin v. Boise cases, and held that enforcement of ordinances relating to public camping, storage of personal property and overnight camping in cars does not violate the Eighth Amendment protection against “Cruel and Unusual Punishment” whether or not alternative shelter is available.  The Court recognized that homelessness is a complex problem and there may be a variety of solutions – or combinations of solutions.  However, it deferred to local agencies to determine how best to regulate and enforce these issues, and gives local agencies the full toolbox of solutions to deal with them.

Moving forward, cities will be able to regulate and enforce their ordinances related to public camping, vehicle camping, and personal storage without the Martin v. Boise restrictions that were implemented back in 2018. All cities are affected by this legal ruling.

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Consider whether your municipality needs to update its ordinances and processes. Not sure where to start? Civica Law’s team has extensive experience in code enforcement, including advisory assistance with ordinances, policies and procedures. We help cities and counties achieve and maintain compliance with all laws – especially their own.

About the Author

  • With over 75 collective years of experience, Civica Law has helped cities and counties abate thousands of dangerous and substandard properties, improve housing conditions, and effectively deal with a wide range of quality-of-life issues, from homeless encampments to cannabis, drug, and gang dens to illegal gambling (or tap-tap) facilities, illegal business operations, human trafficking and massage, land use, and zoning, and virtually every other conceivable quality of life and safety issue a public agency may face.

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