West
US Supreme Court upholds controversial anti-camping laws used against homeless people in Oregon city
- The U.S. Supreme Court upheld anti-camping laws in Grants Pass, Oregon, allowing authorities to prevent homeless individuals from sleeping in public parks and streets.
- The court’s 6-3 decision reversed a lower court ruling that enforcing these laws without available shelter violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
- Grants Pass ordinances prohibit sleeping on public streets with blankets or bedding, imposing fines and possible jail time.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld on Friday anti-camping laws used by authorities in an Oregon city to stop homeless people from sleeping in public parks and public streets – a ruling that gives local and state governments a freer hand in confronting a national homelessness crisis.
The justices ruled 6-3 to overturn a lower court’s decision that found that enforcing the ordinances in the city of Grants Pass when no shelter space is available for the homeless violates the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibition on “cruel and unusual” punishments. Various jurisdictions employ similar laws.
The court’s conservative justices were in the majority, while its three liberal members dissented.
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Homelessness remains a complex problem for public officials in the United States as many municipalities experience chronic shortages of affordable housing. On any given night, more than 600,000 people are homeless, according to U.S. government estimates.
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington, DC, on June 28, 2024. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld on Friday anti-camping laws used by authorities in an Oregon city to stop homeless people from sleeping in public parks and public streets – a ruling that gives local and state governments a freer hand in confronting a national homelessness crisis. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The case focused on three ordinances in Grants Pass, a city of roughly 38,000 people in southwestern Oregon, that together prohibit sleeping in public streets, alleyways and parks while using a blanket or bedding. Violators are fined $295. Repeat offenders can be criminally prosecuted for trespass, punishable by up to 30 days in jail.
Advocates for the homeless, various liberal legal groups and other critics have said laws like these criminalize people simply for being homeless and for actions they cannot avoid, such as sleeping in public. They point to a 1962 Supreme Court ruling that the Eighth Amendment barred punishing individuals based on their status rather than their conduct.
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A point of contention during the Supreme Court’s arguments in the case in April was whether homelessness can be deemed a status that would prohibit enforcing local laws.
President Joe Biden’s administration agreed with the plaintiffs that Grants Pass cannot enforce an “absolute ban” on sleeping in the city – which effectively criminalizes homelessness – but suggested the rulings by the lower courts against the city were too broad and should be reconsidered.
Proponents, including various government officials, have called such laws a necessary tool for maintaining public safety.
The case, which began in 2018, involved three homeless people who filed a class-action lawsuit seeking to block the measures impacting them in Grants Pass. One of the plaintiffs has since died.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Clarke ruled that the city’s “policy and practice of punishing homelessness” violates the Eighth Amendment and barred it from enforcing the anti-camping ordinances. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Clarke’s injunction against the ordinances.
The city had defended itself in the case in part by noting that homeless people have alternatives outside the city, including nearby undeveloped federal land, county campsites or state rest stops. The judge said that argument “sheds light on the city’s attitude towards its homeless citizens” by seeking to drive them out or punish them if they stay.
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Frankee Angel, a lifelong performer, found her world upended when she suffered a sudden medical emergency just before playing piano at St. Patrick’s Church. Unaware that she had already survived one heart attack, she was shocked to learn she was in the midst of a second. The damage was severe—her heart’s ejection fraction had fallen to 15%, indicating advanced heart failure.
Under the care of the cardiology team at Intermountain Health St. James Hospital, Angel began a long journey toward stabilizing and strengthening her heart. Providers monitored her closely, adjusting medications and helping her manage complications like fluid buildup. Their goal was to prepare her for an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD), a device that could protect her from dangerous heart rhythms. In July 2025, once her body was ready, the device was successfully implanted.
Angel immediately felt renewed energy and affectionately named the ICD “Minerva,” after her old stage persona. “It’s a miracle! I’m able to live like the person I am meant to be,” she said.
With the support of cardiac rehabilitation and her dedicated care team, Angel gradually reclaimed her identity as a performer. She returned to playing piano during mass and is now preparing for a role in Macbeth. Her story highlights the broader impact of St. James Hospital’s “Hearts in the Mountains” initiative, launched in 2022 to expand heart-failure care in rural Montana—a program that has helped reduce cardiology readmission rates from 30% to 11.4%.
AUSTIN, Nev. (KOLO) – On Friday, March 6, Andrea Lowe, a seventh-generation Nevadan, filed to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District, which has been held by Rep. Mark Amodei since 2011.
“I’m not a career politician,” Lowe said. “I’m running because the people of Nevada deserve a voice in Washington that truly represents our communities and our values.”
Amodei recently announced he is not running for re-election. The district covers northern Nevada, including Carson City, Reno, and surrounding rural areas.
Lowe, a Republican, serves on the Lander County School Board and is a board director for the Nevada Association of School Boards.
She is also a wife and mother of three boys.
Lowe’s campaign will focus on supporting veterans and first responders, protecting the Second Amendment, and standing up for the hardworking people and rural communities that built Nevada.
“As someone who lives and works in rural Nevada, I understand the challenges our communities face,” Lowe said. “I’m ready to fight for the people who built our state.”
To follow her on Facebook, go to Andrea Lowe for Congress Nevada District 2.
Copyright 2026 KOLO. All rights reserved.
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