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16 J. Race Gender & Poverty 1 (2025)

handle is hein.journals/jrgenpo16 and id is 1 raw text is: These Shackles Got a Hold on Me: City of Grants Pass v. Johnson and The Consequences of Criminalizing Homelessness By: Kiersten Roberts* I. INTRODUCTION The United States of America has long been seen as a land of opportunity and progress. Millions of people have come to this nation, willingly and otherwise, and been faced with the difficult task of building a life for themselves and their families.' This process takes many forms: maintaining a home, pursuing an education, joining the military, and making innovations in science and technology are just a few ways that generations of Americans have worked to create a society in which they and their children can thrive. However, there have always been challenges lurking in the shadows of American life which can cause those foundations to crumble. Economic hardship, addiction, the death of a loved one, mental illness, disability, and just plain bad luck are all factors that contribute to homelessness in this country.2 It is an issue that local governments have struggled to provide solutions to for decades. Massive initiatives to build more affordable housing, provide temporary shelter to those in need, and address systemic inequalities that contribute to homelessness all seem like Band-Aids on a massive, weeping wound in American society.3 As a result, many local governments have long resorted to criminalizing the act of public camping. In its most recent term, the Supreme Court heard a Ninth Circuit case, City ofGrants Pass v. Johnson. In this case, the court considered whether anti-camping laws amounted to cruel and unusual punishment by punishing the status of homelessness.4 In ruling that laws prohibiting camping activities on public land did not violate the Eighth 'Since 1965 alone, 72 million people have immigrated to the United States. Mohamad Moslimani et. al., What the Data Says About Immigrants in the U.S., PEW RESEARCH (September 27, 2024) https://www.pewresearch.org/short- reads/2024/09/27/key-findings-about-us- immigrants/#:~:text=Since%2019650%2C%20about%2072%20million,Ireland%20and%20the%20United%20Kingd om.. 2 Marah Curtis et. al., Life Shocks and Homelessness, 50 DEMOGRAPHY 2227, 2247 (2013). 3See Generally Ella Howard, Homeless: Poverty and Place in Urban America 63 (2013). 4City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, 144 S. Ct. 2202, 219 L.Ed.2d 941 (2024).

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