West Virginia
Dear WV cities: Just because the Supreme Court says you could doesn’t mean you should • West Virginia Watch
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Grants Pass v. Johnson that cities can charge people with crimes for sleeping in public, even when they have nowhere else to go.
The ruling partially reversed the 2018 case Martin v. City of Boise, which had held that cities had to offer sufficient housing alternatives before criminalizing homelessness.
The new ruling will have ramifications across the country.
On a single night in January 2022, there were at least 580,466 homeless people in the United States, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, which is widely considered a conservative count.
Housing prices continue to outpace incomes, particularly in urban areas, leaving housing out of reach for many. The average hourly wage needed to afford a two-bedroom rental in 2023 was $27.58, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. The federal minimum wage remains at $7.25.
Failures in our mental health and addiction treatment systems allow many people to spiral rather than provide necessary support. More than 130 rural hospitals have closed since 2010, according to the National Rural Health Association. This drives more struggling people into population centers to seek support.
West Virginia cities have responded to these pressures by attempting to criminalize poverty. For years cities like Martinsburg, Morgantown, Wheeling, Parkersburg, Huntington, Charleston, and even Buckhannon have engaged in aggressive tactics against people who are indigent, experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. These include nuisance “drug house” ordinances, panhandling bans, and breaking up of encampments. For years the ACLU-WV has fought back against these cruel and misguided policies.
The ruling in Grants Pass may have given cities more power to enact such policies, but it doesn’t require them to do so.
Criminalizing people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go is inherently contrary to the notion of freedom. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor pointed out in her Grants Pass dissent, “sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime.”
In his majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch sided with a lower court’s ruling that Martin had “shackled” local officials’ efforts to redress the serious issue of homelessness. Putting aside the unfortunate choice of words, it’s crucial to note that these laws do nothing to remedy homelessness.
In fact, they only make the problem worse.
We cannot arrest our way out of this mess. We cannot expect court fees, fines and the collateral consequences of legal-system involvement to lift anyone out of poverty. Last year, when the City of Charleston put 16 people in jail for five days for the crime of being homeless in a city park at night, how did that benefit anyone?
In trying to make homelessness less visible, cities like Charleston are throwing gasoline on the fire. We can’t hope that a cruel and hopeless enough situation will magically create the resiliency needed to overcome obstacles and barriers. And we certainly can’t believe that kicking people to the next town over is a viable policy solution.
There are many proven methods to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness and housing instability. They include low-barrier housing, rent controls, expanded mental and behavioral health services, and cutting the red tape to assistance.
Not only are these policies more humane and more effective, the data shows they are cheaper. For example, the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness found that providing permanent housing to chronically homeless individuals saved the region $31,065 per person per year in reduced spending on law enforcement and emergency services.
So, while the Supreme Court may have allowed more criminalization of poverty, it is still bad policy.
And if West Virginia cities think they now have a blank check to criminalize poverty, they can think again. The ACLU isn’t going anywhere and we will fight these wrongheaded proposals every step of the way.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history, compiled by the West Virginia Humanities Council from its online encyclopedia, e-WV.
April 19, 1896: Writer Melville Davisson Post was born in Harrison County. His best-known works are the Randolph Mason series, published in three volumes, and the more successful collection Uncle Abner: Master of Mysteries.
April 19, 1902: Author Jean Lee Latham was born in Buckhannon. She wrote a number of children’s books, including Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, which won the 1956 Newbery Award.
April 20, 1823: Gen. Jesse Lee Reno was born in Wheeling. He graduated from West Point in 1846 with another cadet from western Virginia, Thomas J. Jackson, later known as “Stonewall.” Reno was the highest-ranking officer from present West Virginia killed in the Civil War.
April 20, 1863: President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that in 60 days, West Virginia would become a state. The occasion was marked 100 years later during the state’s Centennial celebration with a special ceremonial session of the West Virginia Legislature on April 20, 1963, in Wheeling.
April 20, 1909: Fiddler Melvin Wine was born near Burnsville in Braxton County. A favorite of old-time music enthusiasts nationally, he was chosen as a National Heritage Fellow in 1991 by the National Endowment for the Arts — the highest recognition given to a folk artist in the United States.
April 20, 1939: Poet Irene McKinney was born in Belington, Barbour County. Gov. Gaston Caperton appointed her state poet laureate in 1993, and she served in that capacity until her death in 2012.
April 21, 1908: Musician Phoeba Cottrell Parsons was born in Calhoun County. Parsons’ traditional clawhammer banjo style, unaccompanied ballad singing, riddles and storytelling have influenced countless younger musicians.
April 21, 1936: President Franklin Roosevelt established the Jefferson National Forest. The West Virginia portion of the forest includes about 19,000 acres in Monroe County.
April 22, 1908: Marshall “Little Sleepy” Glenn was born in Elkins. Glenn coached basketball at West Virginia University from 1934 to 1938 and football from 1937 to 1940. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
April 22, 1948: Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and musician Larry Groce was born in Dallas, Texas. He is best known as the longtime host and artistic director of the Mountain Stage radio program.
April 22, 2003: Activist Judy Bonds, a Raleigh County native, received the Goldman Environmental Prize for her fight against mountaintop removal mining. Her efforts inspired thousands and turned a local West Virginia issue into a national cause.
April 23, 1857: Andrew S. Rowan was born in Gap Mills, Monroe County. Rowan, a military officer, was chosen as the messenger when President William McKinley wanted to send a message to Cuban Gen. Calixto Garcia during the Spanish-American War. The 1899 pamphlet A Message to Garcia made the incident famous.
April 24, 1865: McNeill’s Rangers surrendered to Union troops at New Creek — now Keyser. The Confederate guerrilla force probably never numbered more than 100 men at any time but managed to inflict regular damage on Union operations.
April 25, 1863: In what became known as the Jones-Imboden Raid, about 1,500 Confederate soldiers under Gen. William “Grumble” Jones advanced through Greenland Gap, a deep pass through New Creek Mountain in present Grant County. The Confederates encountered 87 Union soldiers who held off several assaults before finally surrendering.
April 25, 1923: Union leader Arnold Ray Miller was born at Leewood on Cabin Creek in Kanawha County. In December 1972, he defeated Tony Boyle to become president of the United Mine Workers and served until 1979.
e-WV is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council. For more information, contact the council at 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301, call 304-346-8500 or visit wvencyclopedia.org.
During the Gold-Blue spring game on Saturday, the West Virginia coaching staff named wide receiver Cyrus Traught the recipient of the 2026 Tommy Nikolich Award.
The award, which is always given out at the end of spring ball, recognizes a walk-on team member who has distinguished himself through his attitude and work ethic. The award is presented in memory of Tommy Nickolich, a former WVU player (1980-82) who passed away from cancer in 1983.
Traugh is a Parkersburg native and graduate of Parkersburg South High School. He began his career at Youngstown State before transferring back home to play for the Mountaineers last season. In his final year with the Penguins, he logged 36 receptions, 409 yards, and a team-leading five touchdowns, two of which came against Pitt.
During the 2025 campaign with the Mountaineers, he saw action against Robert Morris and Kansas, playing 10 snaps against the Jayhawks, but did not record any stats.
Head coach Rich Rodriguez has mentioned him twice this spring as someone who has been doing some good things and making progress. Wide receivers coach Ryan Garrett also showed him some love during his press conference last week.
The Mountaineers completely revamped the wide receiver room this offseason, upping the level of talent at both inside and outside receiver spots, but perhaps Traugh can work his way into the mix if he puts together a strong summer and fall camp. If he’s not a regular in the rotation, he’ll serve as a quality depth piece who can play special teams.
Past Nickolich Award winners:
2025: Clay Ash, RB
2024: Avery Wilcox, S
2023: C.J. Cole, WR
2022: Nick Malone, OL
2021: Graeson Malashevich, WR/H
2020: Osman Kamara, S
2019: Jake Abbott, LB
2018: Evan Staley, K
2017: Nick Meadows, LS
2016: Jon Lewis, DL
2015: Justin Arndt, LB
2014: Michael Calicchio, OL
2013: Connor Arlia, WR
2012: Tyler Anderson, DE
2011: Ryan Nehlen, WR
2010: Matt Lindamood, FB
2009: Josh Taylor, DL
2008: Adam Hughes, LS
2007: Andy Emery, LB
2006: Tim Lindsey, LS
2005: George Shehl, H/DB
2004: Jeff Noechel, LB
2003: John Pennington, WR
2002: Moe Fofana, RB
2001: Jeremy Knapp, TE
2000: Ben Collins, LB
1999: Bryan Lorenz, LB
1998: Mark Corman, TE
1997: David Lightcap, DB
1996: Matt Ceresa, OL
1995: Rob Keys, DB
1994: Randy Fulmore, DB
1993: Matt McCulty, WR
1992: Brett Parise, WR, Ray Wilcox, LB
1991: Keith Taparausky, RB
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