This is The Marshall Project's Closing Arguments newsletter, a weekly in-depth look at a key criminal justice topic. Want it sent to your inbox? Sign up for future newsletters.
During the years Faith Kearns lived as a shelter on the streets of Phoenix, various items were taken away during sweeps of the common areas where she lived. Kearns said police or city workers took and often destroyed her property — her birth certificate, the Visa card she used to get disability income, medicines and the tent where she lived.
She is a plaintiff in an ongoing federal lawsuit litigation Questioned how Phoenix treats homeless people who live and sleep on public property, claiming the seizures violate their constitutionally protected property rights. “This property was their livelihood,” the lawsuit reads. “It was all they owned.”
Kearns' lawsuit isn't the only one using property rights arguments to seek better treatment of homeless people by local governments. Even though the Supreme Court ruled in June Cities could enforce bans on camping in public spacescourts are still being asked to evaluate how cities handle homeless people when clearing their properties from places where they sleep, rest or even just wait for public transportation.
The Supreme Court's decision, in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, Overturned the lower court's decision The bill says criminal penalties for sleeping outside when there is no other appropriate shelter violates the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Cities that had limited enforcement of camping bans and delayed enacting new ones are now moving away from previous restrictions. That sparked a nationwide wave of local camping bans and mass camp cleanups.
Summer, from the following cities Fresno, Californiaarrive La Crosse, Wisconsinimpose new camping bans, or strengthen existing ones. Auckland and long beachCalifornia clears encampments, while Spokane, Wash. Camping ban begins Close to schools, parks and child care centres. San Francisco mayor promises to start aggressively sweep the camp.
However, the crackdown is not widespread. In Springfield, Illinois, community resistance Leading city to repeal proposed camping ban.
The Supreme Court ruling paves the way for lawsuits alleging the ban is cruel and unusual punishment. However, ongoing litigation based on property rights claims has led cities to order better safekeeping of homeless people's belongings. Lawyers in those cases also said the Supreme Court's ruling did not affect claims of excessive fines and fees. Additionally, the lawsuit filed in state court cites additional protections provided by some state constitutions.
Phoenix's lawsuit, based in part on constitutional protections against government seizure of people's property, claims the city destroyed the belongings of homeless people like Kearns without giving them adequate warning or any recourse. In December 2022, a judge temporarily prohibited the city from seizing property without prior notice, requiring the city to hold seized property for 30 days before destroying it and provide a process for people to get their items back.
In response to this order and another in 2023, the city updated its policy. City officials tout a series of reforms Citing 40 interviews (though only three with homeless people themselves), the police department found limited instances of officers mishandling items and no such instances of police misconduct after 2020.
However, these findings contrast sharply with those of the U.S. Department of Justice An investigation released in June found that Phoenix police Continue to destroy homeless people’s property without prior notice and without giving them an opportunity to reclaim their property—a violation of their constitutional rights.
Other lawsuits filed on behalf of homeless people have also cited property rights. Albuquerque, N.M., lawsuit temporarily halted destroy property Collected from homeless law enforcement agencies. In San Francisco, a ongoing The federal lawsuit requires the city to store the items and notify their owners.
“It's very distressing because it's cold outside, and a lot of what they took away was warm clothes, warm jackets, blankets, things they needed to survive,” said Toro Castaño, one of the plaintiffs in San Francisco. Tell KQED.
Some voters will be pondering similar questions in November when judges weigh homelessness policy in court. Addressing homelessness a key issue in mayoral election San Francisco, San Diego and Phoenix. exist Washington state gubernatorial raceDemocratic candidates link homelessness to lack of affordable housing as their Republican opponents propose moving homeless people from cities to encampments on public lands, one approach Proposed by Republican presidential candidate Trump.
These electoral battles highlight a nationwide ideological conflict in which left-leaning views Expanding permanent housing opportunities Fight the conservative desire to view mental health and substance abuse as root causes of homelessness.
But some governments that have stepped up enforcement or considered expanding camping bans are led by Democrats. In July, California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, issued an executive order Directs state agencies to clear encampments and threatened to withhold funds from counties that failed to expand their efforts. In 2022, Newsom found bipartisan support for a bill that Allow courts to force people to receive mental health treatment.
Heritage Foundation 2025 plan Proposal to end Housing First to homelessness. Although Trump has 2025 planthe chapter mentioning homelessness was written by Dr. Benjamin Carson, who Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development takes the lead In the Trump administration. Policies that prioritize permanent housing without mandating mental health treatment reduce the risk of e.g. Houston and Rockford, Illinois — and has received bipartisan support, including from Carson. Now these policies Facing conservative resistance and other challenges, such as rising rents.
Conservative policy recommendations are closely aligned with those of the Cicero Institute. Proposed model legislation to ban sleeping in public places. A provision of Florida's camping ban advocated by the think tank would allow residents, business owners or the state attorney general Sue cities and counties if they believe laws are not being enforced. In Arizona, voters will soon decide on a measure that would also allow property owners Suing city, seeking reimbursement of fees related to failure to enforce laws targeting homeless people.
Kearns, of Phoenix, will move into a new apartment next month, back in the same neighborhood where she once lived on the street.
With housing, Kearns was able to keep things like a new copy of her birth certificate, rock collections and family letters. But she still remembers the pain of losing her belongings. “Thanks to the city, we all lost a treasure,” she said.