TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Apr 4, 2024

Homeless advocacy group Open Table Nashville has filed an amicus brief in a U.S. Supreme Court case that could affect how cities and states address homeless encampments. The organization joins other service providers and legal advocates across the country in encouraging the Supreme Court to uphold a ruling that prevents cities from punishing people for sleeping outside when they have no access to adequate shelter. The brief comes in the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which involves an Oregon town seeking to enforce a ban on camping on public property. The U.S. 9th Circuit of Appeals previously ruled that such a ban violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 22, the Nashville Post reports. In 2022, Tennessee lawmakers made camping while homeless a felony.