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. 1In Grants Pass, three homeless individuals filed...
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