Supreme Court Overrules Martin v. Boise in Important Homeless Encampment Case
Today in Grants Pass v. Johnson, the Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause does not prohibit the enforcement of generally applicable laws regulating camping on public property. The Court explained the “Constitution’s Eighth Amendment serves many important functions, but it does not authorize federal judges to wrest … [the] rights and responsibilities from the American people” to decide “how best to handle a pressing social question like homelessness” and “in their place dictate this...