Can homeless people be fined for sleeping outside? A rural Oregon city asks the US Supreme Court

A vehicle at left drives down Rogue River Highway as light shines on the area Saturday, March 23, 2024, in Grants Pass, Ore. – A pickleball game in this leafy Oregon community was suddenly interrupted one rainy weekend morning by the arrival of an ambulance. Paramedics rushed through the park toward a tent, one of dozens illegally erected by the town's hundreds of homeless people, then play resumed as though nothing had happened.

Four years later, in a case challenging restrictions in Grants Pass, the court expanded that ruling, holding that civil citations also can be unconstitutional. In Grants Pass, the town’s parks, many lining the picturesque Rogue River, are at the heart of the debate. Cherished for their open spaces, picnic tables, playgrounds and sports fields, they host everything from annual boat-racing festivals and vintage car shows to Easter egg hunts and summer concerts.

Cassy Leach, a nurse, leads a volunteer group providing food, medical care and other basic goods to the town's hundreds of homeless people. They help relocate their tents to comply with city rules. But some residents want to limit aid because of the trash left behind after encampment moves or food handouts. The City Council proposed requiring outreach groups to register with the city. The mayor vetoed it, laying bare the discord gripping Grants Pass.

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