Case Digest on Johnson v. Grants Pass

Eighth Amendment – Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. This ruling is further elucidated by this case. Check it out!🎧📚

FACTS OF THE CASE:

Grants Pass is a city of 40,000 citizens in southern Oregon; in September 2022, residents went to the U.S. Court of Appeals to challenge Grants Pass officials’ decision to ban the homeless population from public camping. District Court Judge Silver and Circuit Judge Gould argued their ruling did not offer homeless residents the “unrestrained right” to “sleep anything they choose.” However, it did prohibit local governments from criminalizing public camping.  

ISSUE OF THE CASE:

Whether cities can punish homeless residents simply for existing without access to shelter

RULING OF THE CASE:

(PENDING – The case will be argued in the spring.)

What do you guys think?

Can state and local officials can punish homeless individuals for camping and sleeping in public spaces when shelter beds are unavailable?

Is it constitutional to enforce anti-camping laws against homeless individuals when they have nowhere else to sleep?

What could be the effect of this to the legal system and the society?

Stay tuned with Audio Law Reader’s Case Digest Series to know more.