We as Americans often pay little attention to the workings of the United States Supreme Court. However, it is time to tune in. The Supreme Court will soon be hearing the City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, which is being hailed as the most significant case regarding homelessness in decades and is likely to set an impactful precedent. 

The case involves the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, which has an unhoused population that exceeds the available amount of shelter beds in the city, forcing many to sleep in public areas. The city has several provisions in its municipal code prohibiting this, including an “anti-camping” ordinance. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that punishment for doing something one cannot control, like having no other choice than to sleep outside, constitutes as cruel and unusual punishment. The city appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court. The question now at hand for the Supreme Court to answer is whether these ordinances violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

How the Court rules on this case is important, most notably because of how it will impact the current unhoused population. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the city, the decision would set a precedent that effectively criminalizes the existence of unhoused individuals in public spaces, leading to fines and potential incarceration of these individuals. The meaning of “cruel and unusual” may be altered if the Court rules in favor of the city, possibly further eroding the rights of the incarcerated.  

The Court will likely release its decision this summer, giving us time to reflect on our personal and national values. As students of a Jesuit institution that emphasizes care for the whole person, as well as the longstanding tradition of Jesuit prison ministry, I believe that we are called to, at minimum, pay attention to which way the tide is turning and who is being affected in this shift.