TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
George Gabriel, Assistant to the City Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of Joining Various Cities or Associations in Filing an Amicus Brief in Support of a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court Regarding Johnson v. City of Grants Pass (City Manager Moe).
AUTHORIZE
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council direct and authorize the City Attorney to join in the support of an amicus brief along with various cities and associations in their writ action questioning the enforcement of generally applicable laws regulating camping on public property and their relation to the Eighth Amendment.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
If City Council chooses to move forward with supporting an amicus brief, there should be no cost to the City.
BACKGROUND:
The City Manager received an email from the League of California Cities (i.e. League) informing City Managers that the City of Grants Pass, Oregon has filed a petition for a writ of certiorari (cert) with the United States Supreme Court. In the email, the League indicated that individual cities will be filing amicus briefs in support of the cert petition, as will the International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA), the National League of Cities, and the California Police Chiefs Association.
DISCUSSION:
Throughout the nation, many cities have enacted several laws to discourage camping and homeless-related activities. However, recent court decisions have limited the enforcement abilities of cities to address homelessness. In particular, Johnson v. City of Grants Pass is the 9th Circuit’s newest ruling on local enforcement of homeless camping and expands the Martin v. Boise decision to include administrative enforcement, regulation of certain sleeping items, and camping in vehicles. In Grants Pass, three homeless individuals filed a class action lawsuit against the City of Grants Pass challenging the constitutionality of the city’s enforcement of their public camping ordinance through civil (administrative) fines, as well as the city’s prohibition on certain sleeping accessories for people camping in public. The city’s ordinance criminalized repeated violations after administrative fines were issued, and prohibited the use of certain sleeping accessories, such as blankets and pillows. The trial court judge agreed with the plaintiffs, finding parts of the city’s ordinances unconstitutional in light of Martin, and issued an injunction prohibiting the city from enforcement. The court determined that although Martin only involved criminal prosecution, administrative enforcement that ultimately could result in criminal enforcement also violates the 8th Amendment and that certain basic sleeping elements were within the protection of the Martin case. On appeal, the 9th Circuit upheld the lower court’s ruling, expanding Martin to cover not only criminal enforcement of ordinances concerning sleeping in public, but also administrative enforcement that could result in criminal enforcement, and redefining the term “sleeping” to include rudimentary forms of protection from the elements, as well as overnight sleeping in vehicles.
In light of the Johnson decision, anti-sleeping or anti-camping ordinances remain vulnerable to constitutional challenges whether on Eighth Amendment or other constitutional grounds. A number of cities have expressed frustration about the decision as it further limits what and how cities could enforce local ordinances pertaining to homelessness.
Recently, the City of Grants Pass has filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. In its cert petition, the City has presented the following question for the Supreme Court’s consideration:
“Does the enforcement of generally applicable laws regulating camping on public property constitute ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ prohibited by the Eighth Amendment?”
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council direct and authorize the City Attorney to join in the support of an amicus brief along with various cities and associations in their writ action questioning the enforcement of generally applicable laws regulating camping on public property and their relation to the Eight Amendment.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney concurs with the position taken by the City of Grants Pass.