Homeless people living on San Francisco’s streets could end up in handcuffs after a federal appeals court lifted an order Monday that barred the city from clearing encampments.
The Ninth Circuit overturned the 2022 ruling that said it was unconstitutional to sweep homeless encampments when there was no other shelter available for the transients.
The injunction was lifted in response to last month’s Supreme Court ruling in Johnson v. Grants Pass. The high court overturned its previous position that said clearing homeless camps without alternative shelters violated the 8th Amendment’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
San Francisco officials haven’t said what their plan is to address encampments in the Bay Area city.
Last month, Mayor London Breed said the city is considering imposing “significant penalties” on homeless residents when necessary, but didn’t say outright that would mean jailing vagrants.
“This will give our City more flexibility to provide services to unhoused people while keeping our streets healthy and safe,” said City Attorney David Chiu in a Monday statement to the San Francisco Standard. “It will help us address our most challenging encampments, where services are often refused and re-encampment is common.”
San Francisco saw a 17% reduction in tents on the street last year after conducting regular sweeps, according to local radio station KQED-FM.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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