SAN FRANCISCO—The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an order on July 8 clearing the way for San Francisco to sweep public homeless camps.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court found on June 28 in a different case that enforcement of laws against public camping does not count as cruel and unusual punishment. The case in question was City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson.
In San Francisco, the July 8 order vacated the injunction “insofar as it relates to Plaintiffs’ claims of cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment,” the order states.
However, the order upholds the part of the injunction that requires the city to comply with its “bag and tag” policy when dealing with homeless people’s belongings. It states that the city has not challenged this part of the injunction.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said in the press release, “This [order] will give our City more flexibility to provide services to unhoused people while keeping our streets healthy and safe. It will help us address our most challenging encampments, where services are often refused and re-encampment is common.”
Mayor London Breed’s Office expressed appreciation of the Ninth Circuit for making an expedited decision on the matter.
“Conversations with the City Attorney are underway to inform our next steps, including how policies and procedures are updated,” the mayor’s office told The Epoch Times in an email.
“San Francisco is a city that prioritizes compassion and we will continue to lead with services first in all of our outreach efforts but we cannot allow for people to refuse services and shelter when offered and available.”
Nisha Kashyap, the attorney representing the Coalition on Homelessness, did not respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.
