LOS ANGELES – Today, the United States Supreme Court overturned lower court rulings in Grants Pass v. Johnson to allow the criminalization of people for sleeping outside when they have no other safe place to go. Mayor Bass criticized the ruling in the following statement:
“Today’s decision is not surprising given the make-up of the Court but disappointing nonetheless. This ruling must not be used as an excuse for cities across the country to attempt to arrest their way out of this problem or hide the homelessness crisis in neighboring cities or in jail. Neither will work, neither will save lives and that route is more expensive for taxpayers than actually solving the problem.
“The only way to address this crisis is to bring people indoors with housing and supportive services. In the City of Los Angeles, we will continue leading with this approach, which helped move thousands more Angelenos inside last year than the year before. We cannot go backwards – we must continue innovating and moving with intention and urgency until every person experiencing homelessness is able to access housing, services and support.”
The case originated after Grants Pass, Oregon began issuing fines over $200 to people sleeping in public due to a lack of accessible shelter beds. For multiple violations, people experiencing homelessness would face threat of incarceration.