Johnson v. Grants Pass
In this article, Audrey will explain how the lawsuit filed against Grants Pass made it to the United States Supreme Court and how the results will affect cities all over America.
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Johnson v. Grants Pass
Johnson v. Grants Pass
By: Audrey Roetling
On Apr. 22, 2024, the United States Supreme Court heard the case of Johnston vs. Grants Pass. Ultimately, this case will establish the limits of how cities are to contain their homeless population. As this case was sent on appeal to the Supreme Court, the decision made will apply to the entire country and not just Grants Pass, Oregon.
As this case is very complex, there is much information regarding the arguments of both sides. To simplify the case, there are three main questions that have been debated during this case:
1.) Is it legal how the city deals with their homeless population?
2.) Is Grants Pass criminalizing the act of being homeless?
3.) Are jail time and fines a cruel and unusual punishment?
The question arises of how our small city in Oregon managed to go to the Supreme Court for this matter. To clarify the process, homeless advocacy groups look through the laws of different cities, trying to find cases that bring attention to a law they want changed. The way the municipal code was written in Grants Pass, which is stricter than some, just happened to be an easy target for these groups. While the intention may have been to keep a small city safe, in 2018, a complaint was submitted by Debra Blake, claiming: “Grants Pass is trying to run the homeless out of town.” Since Grants Pass is being sued for violating the 8th Amendment of the Constitution, the trials take place through the federal court system. The closest federal court to Grants Pass is in Medford, Oregon, where the case was originally heard in 2020. Medford ruled that the actions of Grants Pass were unconstitutional, so Grants Pass appealed to the next level in the federal court system chain, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, located in San Francisco, California. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Medford in a three-judge decision. When Grants Pass requested all 29 judges hear the case, the 9th Circuit Court declined, and the case was appealed to the U.S Supreme Court, who agreed to hear it. If Grants Pass had not appealed the decision made in Medford, the laws concerning how they are allowed to deal with their homeless population would be a rule for Grants Pass only. If it had not been appealed from the 9th Circuit Court, it would apply to all in the 9th Circuit district; however, as the Supreme Court is making the decision, every city in the United States will be affected by the same law or it will be removed from Grants Pass.
The City of Grants Pass was sued by a homeless advocacy group with accusations of being too harsh with their homelessness population and violating the 8th Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment or excessive fines. The claim of the homeless advocates is that Grants Pass is criminalizing the act of being homeless and unreasonably punishing people who have nowhere else to go. This would mean that, if a person sets up a tent on the sidewalk, the police would no longer be able to ticket them for camping out in the area. The homeless are often jailed for causing disturbances in the area, and the claim is that sending them to jail for this is a cruel or unusual punishment. However, the argument of the City of Grants Pass is that the arrest and fees are for behavior and not the status of being homeless. If anyone camps on public property, not intended to be a campsite, they will be arrested. It is illegal to camp in a courthouse because it goes against the designs and intentions of the courthouse, the same goes for a park.
Homeless advocacy groups argue that, through fines and jail time, the city of Grants Pass is outlawing the act of being homeless. Gloria Johnson, who is representing the homeless population of Grants Pass through this trial, testified that she has been taxed for sleeping on public property and told she could not sleep in her truck. The shelter options offered in Grants Pass are not considered to be a low barrier and many homeless people do not want to have to follow the rules to live there. Also, there are believed to be more homeless people than beds available at the shelters, so many do not feel like they have anywhere to sleep without being taxed.
Image from: The New York Times
While some people are homeless due to mental health issues or poverty, other homeless people in Grants Pass are addicted to substances and wander the streets or into businesses under the influence and cause disruptions for workers, as well as customers. While people do not typically get arrested for possessing or using drugs, people who use drugs typically go to jail for altered behavior and thoughts resulting in illegal actions. In situations where anyone makes a scene, causes an incident, or harasses another person, jail is typically used as a solution to keep both parties safe. Prison and jail are often confused, although they are two very different places; jail is a short-term sentence (often before a trial), where people are forced to become sober and develop healthy habits. They are fed, given a place to sleep and, when they leave, they have a much better chance of finding a job. According to Alpine Recovery Lodge, “Correctional facilities offer addiction treatment programs, including counseling, therapy, and support groups. These programs aim to address the underlying causes of addiction, promote sobriety, and provide necessary tools for recovery in and out of jail.” If an inmate is resulting in altered behavior due to substance abuse and they are given time to detoxify and recover in jail, then their chances of changing their lives around and finding jobs are much better than if they were left alone on the street. The average life expectancy of a homeless person in Oregon is only 49 years. Reaching for sobriety has been found to be effective in helping them out of their situation and decreasing the chances of an untimely death.
It is important to note that Grants Pass is 11.26 square miles, with six elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school. The town is very suburban-- so neighborhoods, small businesses, parks, and churches are all closely compact. Homelessness can have more consequences for a small town because scattered needles or distributive outbursts of drug addicts are much more likely to be happening close to the neighborhoods of citizens than in a spacious campground or closed-off area. If the city were larger, then there would be a greater quantity of solutions. For example, in Medford, Oregon, which is 27.73 square miles– more than double the size of Grants Pass– there is room to build parks for the homeless to camp in, so that they are not living on the streets or outside of businesses. However, there is no room to build an urban campground in Grants Pass, especially without building it close to an elementary school or shopping center. There is also the problem of city finances. It takes up a lot of money and land to have all the proper resources and multiple shelters to aid the homeless population. Also, the cheaper “solutions" seem questionable. Portland, Oregon, for example, buys their homeless bus tickets so that they leave the city, with what they call the Homeward Bound program. This only leads to the homeless populating other cities, who now have the responsibility of having to figure out a real solution for the homeless.
In 1983, private donors funded the Gospel Rescue Mission to help with housing the homeless, which is a lot more than some cities and towns do for their homeless people. The Gospel Rescue Mission was established to help the homeless to not only find shelter, but have time to get sober, find a job, and be able to rebuild their lives: “Getting them off the streets would be one goal. Getting them into independence is our goal, and for them to become independent requires something different than what it might be just to simply get them off the streets,” stated Brian Bouteller, the Mission’s executive director. Many cities do not offer really any support for their homeless; however, Grants Pass had a shelter built. There are also organizations, such as The Women’s Crisis Team, which house women and children needing housing from domestic situations, rather than being without shelter.
Since the Johnson vs. Grants Pass case has been accepted, 84 amicus briefs (insight to the court by those not directly involved with the case) have been filed. This includes 24 U.S. states, 13 Californian cities, and six members of Congress taking the side of Grants Pass with the argument that “infringes their sovereign authority over homelessness policy and criminal law.” On the other hand, ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, National Homelessness Law Center, and Oregon Food Bank take the side of Gloria Johnson and the homeless advocates. Statements of 57 Social Scientist claim, “The enforcement of anti-homeless laws has wide-ranging and lingering negative impacts on those experiencing homelessness and creates significant barriers to exiting homelessness.”
If Gloria Johnston and the advocacy group win the court case, then cities all over the United States will be limited to using police enforcement to remove anyone from camping on public property and causing disruptions through fines and jail. Homelessness in urban and suburban settings presumably will increase, as there will be less the city can do to stop it. If Grants Pass wins, then cities will still be able to use police enforcement as a way of keeping the homeless from being able to populate shopping centers and streets with tents. The Supreme Court will announce their final decision on Jun. 30, 2024.
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