{"id":46633,"date":"2019-12-17T09:57:58","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T13:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/?p=46633"},"modified":"2019-12-17T09:57:58","modified_gmt":"2019-12-17T13:57:58","slug":"human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html","title":{"rendered":"“Human Beings Are Biologically Compelled to Rest” Court Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u201cSupreme Court Won\u2019t Hear Case On Ban Against Homeless Sleeping In Public Spaces<\/a>,\u201d reads an NPR headline in my feed reader, and all I can think is,\u00a0how can we live in a world that is this cruel?\u00a0<\/em>If homeless people can\u2019t sleep in public spaces, where are they supposed to sleep? Being homeless by definition means that one does not have a private place in which to sleep<\/em>. Sure, there are homeless shelters, but they\u2019re not always available\u2014and homeless people sometimes have reasons for avoiding one or another.<\/p>\n

The case stems from a lawsuit filed nearly a decade ago. A handful of people sued the city of Boise for repeatedly ticketing them for violating an ordinance against sleeping outside. While Boise officials later amended it to prohibit citations when shelters are full, the 9th Circuit eventually determined the local law was unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

In a decision last year, the court said it was \u201ccruel and unusual punishment\u201d to enforce rules that stop homeless people from camping in public places when they have no place else to go. That means states across the 9th Circuit can no longer enforce similar statutes if they don\u2019t have enough shelter beds for homeless people sleeping outside.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In other words, the original local statute banned sleeping outside even when shelters were full<\/em>. Where exactly are homeless people supposed<\/em> to sleep if shelters are full? The city only changed the rule so that people sleeping outside would not be ticketed if shelters were full after<\/em>\u00a0they got in trouble for it. This shows you just how much the city actually cared about homeless people\u2019s wellbeing, and suggests that the object was purely about keeping the streets clear of homeless people, for the benefit of everyone else.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the first problem, though. Even when shelters aren\u2019t full,<\/em> they\u2019re not always open to everyone. Some shelters have religious requirements, or other requirements that may result in someone losing their spot if they do not follow specific rules. Some shelters\u00a0have limits on the number of days homeless people are allowed to use them. This was case in Boise\u2014the plaintiffs who sued had been ticketed for sleeping outside after being denied access to shelters based, in some cases, on having used up the maximum number of days they were allowed to stay there without entering rigorous religious discipleship programs.<\/p>\n

Fining people for sleeping outside when they do not have access to anywhere else to sleep is like fining them for existing<\/em>. And interestingly, that turns out to be exactly what\u00a0the 9th circuit concluded<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

This principle compels the conclusion that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the imposition of criminal penalties for sitting, sleeping, or lying outside on public property for homeless individuals who cannot obtain shelter. As Jones reasoned, \u201c[w]hether sitting, lying, and sleeping are defined as acts or conditions, they are universal and unavoidable consequences of being human.\u201d<\/strong> Jones, 444 F.3d at 1136. Moreover, any \u201cconduct at issue here is involuntary and inseparable from status \u2014 they are one and the same, given that human beings are biologically compelled to rest, whether by sitting, lying, or sleeping.\u201d Id. As a result, just as the state may not criminalize the state of being \u201chomeless in public places,\u201d the state may not \u201ccriminalize conduct that is an unavoidable consequence of being homeless \u2014 namely sitting, lying, or sleeping on the streets.\u201d<\/strong> Id. at 1137.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Now, the ninth circuit ruling is still circumscribed.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Our holding is a narrow one. Like the Jones panel, \u201cwe in no way dictate to the City that it must provide sufficient shelter for the homeless, or allow anyone who wishes to sit, lie, or sleep on the streets . . . at any time and at any place.\u201dId. at 1138. We hold only that \u201cso long as there is a greater number of homeless individuals in [a jurisdiction] than the number of available beds [in shelters],\u201d the jurisdiction cannot prosecute homeless individuals for \u201cinvoluntarily sitting, lying, and sleeping in public.\u201d Id. That is, as long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize indigent, homeless people for sleeping outdoors, on public property, on the false premise they had a choice in the matter.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This is too narrow, in my opinion. I\u2019m uncomfortable with fining people for sleeping on the street when shelters are closed to them (whether or not this is because the shelters are full), yes, but I\u2019m also uncomfortable with forcing people to sleep in shelters. Not all homeless shelters are well run or safe, and this is a vulnerable population we\u2019re talking about here. What if a person has been harmed or abused by a shelter volunteer or employee\u2014or by another homeless person in a shelter?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Frankly, the government forcing people into a specific building (or set of buildings) for a certain number of hours without trial or conviction of any offense feels like a violation of people\u2019s civil liberties. The courts may not be addressing this because it there will always be people for whom shelters are closed, making it moot. Still, some have used the term \u201cconcentration camp\u201d<\/a> to describe the Trump administration\u2019s purported plans to limit and circumscribe the areas homeless people are allowed to exist in places like LA.<\/p>\n

Can we talk about the fact that ticketing and fining\u00a0homeless people\u00a0<\/i>is a terrible<\/em> idea? That\u2019ll totally improve their lives! Add a fine and maybe a court date to people who are already struggling with basic things like\u00a0finding a place to sleep\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0not having money for\u00a0their next meal.\u00a0<\/i>Fines and ticketing are so regressive in general, adding extra fines and tickets to homeless people in particular is nothing short of cruel.<\/p>\n

Shelters are important, but fining homeless people for sleeping outside rather than in a shelter is not the answer. Fining homeless people in general\u00a0is not the answer.\u00a0<\/em>Fining homeless people for existing makes it only harder<\/em> for them to get back on their feet. Can we move away from fines as an answer in general?<\/p>\n

Look, I get it. It can be disconcerting to have homeless people camped out on the street or sleeping on benches. It\u2019s uncomfortable. (You know what ise more<\/em> uncomfortable? Being<\/em> homeless.) But treating this as the problem<\/em> rather than as the\u00a0symptom<\/em> of an underlying problem is wrongheaded in the extreme.<\/p>\n

Trying to fix homelessness by banning people from sleeping in public places is like trying to cure poverty by banning people from panhandling. You may no longer see the symptom of the problem, but it\u2019s still\u2014wait, that\u2019s been tried. Some localities have banned panhandling.<\/em> Let me attempt that again:<\/p>\n

Trying to fix homelessness by banning people from sleeping in public places is like trying to fix children\u2019s absenteeism from school by taking their parents to court for truancy\u2014oh, wait. It turns out we do a lot of criminalizing people for symptoms of underlying problems rather than addressing the underlying problems<\/em>.<\/p>\n

You know would be a better\u00a0answer? Having the city hire more social workers or create programs designed to identify and address the underlying cause of homeless individuals\u2019 situations. In other words, local authorities\u2014and the state and federal government as well\u2014could<\/em>\u00a0approach homelessness as a symptom of an underlying problem rather than as the problem to be solved<\/em>. It is possible to imagine it, if nothing else.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll finish with this quote from\u00a0Anatole France, a French poet who lived a century ago:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It seems this is not a new problem.<\/p>\n

I have a <\/b>Patreon<\/b><\/a>! Please support my writing!\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even when shelters aren’t full, they’re not always open to everyone. Some shelters have religious requirements, or other requirements that may result in someone losing their spot if they do not follow specific rules. Some shelters\u00a0have limits on the number of days homeless people are allowed to use them.<\/p>\n

Click through to read more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":46639,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1021,1024],"class_list":["post-46633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-homeless","tag-social-justice"],"yoast_head":"\n"Human Beings Are Biologically Compelled to Rest" Court Notes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Even when shelters aren't full, they're not always open to everyone. Some shelters have religious requirements, or other requirements that may result in someone losing their spot if they do not follow specific rules. Some shelters\u00a0have limits on the number of days homeless people are allowed to use them. Click through to read more!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Human Beings Are Biologically Compelled to Rest" Court Notes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Even when shelters aren't full, they're not always open to everyone. Some shelters have religious requirements, or other requirements that may result in someone losing their spot if they do not follow specific rules. Some shelters\u00a0have limits on the number of days homeless people are allowed to use them. Click through to read more!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Love, Joy, Feminism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-17T13:57:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/166\/2019\/12\/solitude-1591169_1920.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Libby Anne\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Libby Anne\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html\",\"name\":\"\\\"Human Beings Are Biologically Compelled to Rest\\\" Court Notes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-17T13:57:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-17T13:57:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/#\/schema\/person\/fae465c1bbb5cbdf26c9e73bfd1b73d2\"},\"description\":\"Even when shelters aren't full, they're not always open to everyone. Some shelters have religious requirements, or other requirements that may result in someone losing their spot if they do not follow specific rules. Some shelters\u00a0have limits on the number of days homeless people are allowed to use them. Click through to read more!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"“Human Beings Are Biologically Compelled to Rest” Court Notes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/\",\"name\":\"Love, Joy, Feminism\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/#\/schema\/person\/fae465c1bbb5cbdf26c9e73bfd1b73d2\",\"name\":\"Libby Anne\",\"description\":\"Libby Anne grew up in a large evangelical homeschool family highly involved in the Christian Right. College turned her world upside down, and she is today an atheist, a feminist, and a progressive. She blogs about leaving religion, her experience with the Christian Patriarchy and Quiverfull movements, the detrimental effects of the \\\"purity culture,\\\" the contradictions of conservative politics, and the importance of feminism.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/author\/libby\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Human Beings Are Biologically Compelled to Rest\" Court Notes","description":"Even when shelters aren't full, they're not always open to everyone. Some shelters have religious requirements, or other requirements that may result in someone losing their spot if they do not follow specific rules. Some shelters\u00a0have limits on the number of days homeless people are allowed to use them. Click through to read more!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Human Beings Are Biologically Compelled to Rest\" Court Notes","og_description":"Even when shelters aren't full, they're not always open to everyone. Some shelters have religious requirements, or other requirements that may result in someone losing their spot if they do not follow specific rules. Some shelters\u00a0have limits on the number of days homeless people are allowed to use them. Click through to read more!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html","og_site_name":"Love, Joy, Feminism","article_published_time":"2019-12-17T13:57:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/166\/2019\/12\/solitude-1591169_1920.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Libby Anne","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Libby Anne","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html","name":"\"Human Beings Are Biologically Compelled to Rest\" Court Notes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-12-17T13:57:58+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-17T13:57:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/#\/schema\/person\/fae465c1bbb5cbdf26c9e73bfd1b73d2"},"description":"Even when shelters aren't full, they're not always open to everyone. Some shelters have religious requirements, or other requirements that may result in someone losing their spot if they do not follow specific rules. Some shelters\u00a0have limits on the number of days homeless people are allowed to use them. Click through to read more!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/human-beings-are-biologically-compelled-to-rest-court-notes.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“Human Beings Are Biologically Compelled to Rest” Court Notes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/","name":"Love, Joy, Feminism","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/#\/schema\/person\/fae465c1bbb5cbdf26c9e73bfd1b73d2","name":"Libby Anne","description":"Libby Anne grew up in a large evangelical homeschool family highly involved in the Christian Right. College turned her world upside down, and she is today an atheist, a feminist, and a progressive. She blogs about leaving religion, her experience with the Christian Patriarchy and Quiverfull movements, the detrimental effects of the \"purity culture,\" the contradictions of conservative politics, and the importance of feminism.","sameAs":["http:\/\/patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/author\/libby"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/845"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}