A homeless man packs up his tent in downtown Los Angeles in July. The Supreme Court let stand a ruling that says homeless people have a right to sleep on the sidewalk if a city doesn’t have enough shelters to house them. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

How Homelessness Law Now Stands
Los Angeles and dozens of other cities across the West, all struggling to deal with a growing number of people living on the streets, had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would hear a challenge to a case known as City of Boise vs. Martin, which has curbed the ability of police to stop people from sleeping on public property if no other shelter is available.

Instead, the high court decided to not hear the case and let last year’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling stand. Why? The Supreme Court did not explain its decision to turn down the appeal — the justices usually don’t do so — but they may have thought the dispute was moot. 

Advocates for the homeless cheered the court’s move, which in effect means that, for now, the only solutions to homelessness in nine western states are more housing and more services. But there is discussion of a possible California ballot measure that would create a legal "right to shelter: or "right to housing."  

TO SEE FULL ARTICLE, Click Here