It’s a crime to sleep in public, according to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in City of Grants Pass, Oregon vs. Johnson et al. stated that jurisdictions are able to arrest homeless people for sleeping on the street, even if they don’t have a shelter for them to go to instead.
It’s unclear how local jurisdictions will respond to the ruling. Officials are still trying to figure it out.
“Our office is in the process of analyzing the court’s opinion and its impact on several sections of the city’s municipal code,” Santa Barbara City Attorney Sarah Knecht said. “This analysis is imperative as the city is still litigating its sit-lie ordinance in federal court. “
Santa Barbara in 2021 passed a sit-lie ordinance for portions of Milpas Street, where the sidewalks are narrow and people are unable to pass. The ordinance was challenged, and a federal judge ruled against the city. The ruling has since been appealed.
“The lengthy decision issued by the Supreme Court on Friday still requires careful analysis in its application,” Knecht said.
The City of Santa Maria was in a similar position.
“This news is still pretty fresh, and city staff will take time to fully understand what this means, with anticipation that this ruling would broaden our strategic approach,” said Mark Van De Kamp, the city’s public information officer. “The city has been diligent in addressing the impacts of homelessness on our community, through the work of our community service officers, park rangers, and coordinated work with other agencies and service providers.”
The City of Lompoc did not respond to Noozhawk.
CEO Jennifer Hark Dietz for People Assisting The Homeless, PATH, disagrees with the ruling.
“The Supreme Court’s decision in the Johnson v. Grants Pass case is devastating and will have disastrous consequences for unhoused individuals across the country, including the 181,000 people experiencing homelessness in California,” Dietz said. “Throughout our 40 years of service across the state, PATH has seen how costly, ineffective and inhumane criminalization and enforcement policies can be.”
Dietz said in a statement that an audit of Los Angeles’ anti-camping policy found that after spending $3 million on encampment clearings, only two people were connected to permanent housing.
She said San Diego instituted a similar anti-camping ordinance and homelessness there continues to rise.
“The status quo of people living outdoors is unacceptable, but we know what works — connecting people to outreach, supportive services, shelter and permanent housing,” Dietz said. “Punishing people for being unsheltered is cruel and will not put an end to our homelessness crisis. As an organization dedicated to ending homelessness, PATH will continue to advocate for housing and services, not handcuffs. “
Santa Barbara County Second District Supervisor Laura Capps agreed.
“Homelessness is a housing issue,” Capps said. “We can’t simply arrest people out of the homelessness crisis. Our county has a proven strategy and protocol already in place that resolves encampments in our community in a humane way — a collective focus on providing housing and putting the right wraparound services in place.”
Capps noted the county’s partnership with Dignity Moves to move people off the streets and into supportive housing.
“We’ve secured $16.52 million in competitive state funding to resolve encampments,” Capps said, “and our county’s partnership with Dignity Moves and Good Samaritan is building temporary shelter beds at lighting speed.”
