Below is a political press release from Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch:
Attorney General Lynn Fitch recently joined a 20-state coalition in filing an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court of the United States to grant a writ of certiorari to review the Ninth Circuit’s widely criticized decision in Johnson v. City of Grants Pass, which held that the Constitution includes an individual right to sleep and camp on sidewalks, playgrounds, and other public lands.
“This decision has created a nightmare for local governments that are attempting to address homelessness, as well as crime and public health issues,” said General Fitch.“The Ninth Circuit’s decision leaves local leaders without options for protecting their constituents’ health and safety. We urge the Court to correct this erroneous and unconstitutional decision and allow the people’s representatives to once again address the challenges facing their communities in ways that meet the needs of those communities.
Expressing the concerns of fifteen judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the court’s deeply divided decision to deny rehearing en banc, Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, wrote:
"With this decision, our Circuit’s jurisprudence now effectively guarantees a personal federal constitutional ‘right’ for individuals to camp or to sleep on sidewalks and in parks, playgrounds, and other public places in defiance of traditional health, safety, and welfare laws – a dubious holding premised on a fanciful interpretation of the Eighth Amendment. We are the first and only federal circuit to have divined such a strange and sweeping mandate from the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause. Our jurisprudence in this case is egregiously flawed and deeply damaging ... - paralyzing local communities from addressing the pressing issue of homelessness, and seizing policymaking authority that our federal system of government leaves to the democratic process."
The Ninth Circuit’s deeply flawed decision endorsed class certification of claims against local ordinances meant to address homelessness and other issues causing serious problems in cities across the U.S. The Circuit’s jurisprudence paves the way to unchecked public encampments, which have unleashed a host of public health and safety crises. Medieval diseases such as typhus, shigella, and trench fever are resurfacing in these encampments. Rats and fleas plague these areas, as well as nearby public buildings and homes. Encampments have also led to the unsightly and unsanitary smearing of sidewalks, paths, and playgrounds with human fecal matter, discarded needles, and other biohazards.
The coalition of Attorneys General called on the Supreme Court to correct the Ninth Circuit’s unprecedented decision and return power to state and local governments to address homelessness. Homelessness is a distinctly local issue, and the U.S. Constitution leaves such issues to state and local governments. State and local governments need the freedom to protect their communities from the adverse public health and safety risks posed by surging homelessness.
In addition to Attorney General Fitch, the Attorneys General from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia also joined the brief.
A copy of the brief is available HERE.
