Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/23-175_19m2.pdf
Page Number: 45.0

Cite as:  603 U. S. ____ (2024) 

1 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 23–175 
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CITY OF GRANTS PASS, OREGON, PETITIONER v. 
GLORIA JOHNSON, ET AL., ON BEHALF 
OF THEMSELVES AND ALL OTHERS 
SIMILARLY SITUATED 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 
APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT 

[June 28, 2024] 

JUSTICE  SOTOMAYOR,  with  whom  JUSTICE  KAGAN  and 

JUSTICE JACKSON join, dissenting. 

Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime.  For some peo-
ple, sleeping outside is their only option.  The City of Grants 
Pass jails and fines those people for sleeping anywhere in 
public  at  any  time,  including  in  their  cars,  if  they  use  as
little  as  a  blanket  to  keep  warm  or  a  rolled-up  shirt  as  a
pillow.  For people with no access to shelter, that punishes 
them for being homeless.  That is unconscionable and un-
constitutional.  Punishing people for their status is “cruel 
and unusual” under the Eighth Amendment.  See Robinson 
v. California, 370 U. S. 660 (1962). 

Homelessness  is  a  reality  for  too  many  Americans.    On 
any given night, over half a million people across the coun-
try lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
Many do not have access to shelters and are left to sleep in 
cars, sidewalks, parks, and other public places.  They expe-
rience homelessness due to complex and interconnected is-
sues, including crippling debt and stagnant wages; domes-
tic and sexual abuse; physical and psychiatric disabilities; 
and rising housing costs coupled with declining affordable 
housing options.