Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Grants Pass Anti‑camping Ordinance

The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard argument in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, a case testing whether a municipal anti‑camping ordinance that forbids establishing a campsite (including bedding) amounts to status‑based punishment for people who have nowhere to sleep.

Petitioner counsel told the court that "these generally applicable laws prohibit specific conduct and are essential to public health and safety," and urged the justices to reverse the Ninth Circuit's approach, which, petitioner said, has "tied cities' hands by constitutionalizing the policy debate" about encampments. Counsel argued that Robinson v. California's narrow holding — that the State may not criminalize the status of drug addiction — does not bar jurisdictions from punishing conduct such as "establishing a campsite" and that extending Robinson would create unworkable line‑drawing problems for courts and police.

Respondents countered that the Grants Pass ordinance, by defining a campsite to…