Despite U.S. Supreme Court debate, Erie has no plans to punish homeless for sleeping outside

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week on whether issuing fines/tickets to homeless people who sleep outside in public spaces is cruel and unusual punishment that violates the U.S. Constitution.

Whatever the high court decides, however, city of Erie officials say they won't launch a criminal crackdown on the homeless.

On Monday, the nation’s highest court will hear City of Grants Pass v Johnson, which focuses on the small city of Grants Pass, Ore. and its enforcement of a local law that bans people from camping/sleeping in public spaces such as on sidewalks or parks.

The Supreme Court’s decision could have broad implications for how municipalities nationwide address homelessness and whether living in homeless encampments and/or sleeping outside on publicly-owned property can get people fined or even jailed.

Renee Lamis, Erie Mayor Joe Schember's chief of staff, said city officials are focused on finding long-term solutions to help those who need shelter, not "the criminalization of homelessness."

Erie County's unsheltered homeless population has increased exponentially in recent years.

According to county statistics, 371 people are homeless on any given day in Erie County, and the region's unsheltered homeless population has increased by 400% since 2020.

"We are focused on initiatives to create more options for permanent supportive housing in the city because we believe that everyone should have access to safe, quality, affordable housing," Lamis said.

Can the homeless be fined/jailed for sleeping outside?

A group of homeless people challenged the Grants Pass anti-camping law, and various groups that advocate for the poor and homeless support the lawsuit.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Oregon and several other western states, ruled in 2018 that communities can prohibit tents in public spaces.

However, the court ruled that issuing fines/citations to people who sleep outside because they have nowhere else to go violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which bans cruel and unusual punishment.

The court later expanded that ruling, saying that civil penalties were also unconstitutional. Officials in a number of West Coast states have submitted briefs to the high court, hoping the justices overturn the 9th Circuit's decision because they say it limits their ability to deal with homeless encampments.

The Supreme Court announced in January that it would hear the case at a time when unsheltered homeless populations are spiking nationwide.

The nation’s unsheltered homeless population has increased to more than 653,000 people in 2023, a 12% increase over 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Erie's police chief: 'Being homeless is not a crime'

Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny said his department has no plans to jail/fine homeless individuals “just for being homeless and for not having a place to sleep at night,” even though there is an existing city ordinance that prohibits sleeping overnight in city parks.

“Obviously we’ll watch for the results of the Supreme Court’s decision,” Spizarny said. ‘But we’re not looking to penalize people who don’t have a place to live. If someone is not aggressively bothering other people, simply being homeless is not a crime.”

City police officers, including members of the bureau’s Crisis Unit, try to focus on providing referrals for assistance when interacting with the homeless.

“Erie has a tremendous amount of services available to help people, and our officers are very well connected with those services if people want help,” Spizarny said.

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on X at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: How could looming U.S. Supreme Court decision on homeless affect Erie?