SCOTUS to hear case on sleeping on street
Jan. 29—On Jan. 2, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States announced it would hear the case of Johnson v. Grants Pass, which focuses on criminalization of homelessness and allowing cities to punish people for sleeping outside with a pillow or blanket.
Johnson v. Grants Pass is a court case, originally filed in 2018, that determined it is "cruel and unusual punishment" to arrest or ticket people for sleeping outside when they have no other safe place to go, states the website johnsonvgrantspass.com.
In October, Tahlequah began enforcing Tahlequah City Ordinance 11-103, which prohibits overnight camping without consent.
Police Chief Nate King said that in calendar year 2023, eight citations had been given out, the last one on Oct. 11, 2023. The fine for sleeping on the street is $285. King said individuals are not given citations on the first occurrence.
"We give warnings. The [eight] citations issued were people who were causing lots of issues and not just sleeping on the street," King said.
This amount includes a fee of $225, plus $30 penalty assessment and $30 court fees.
King said the municipal judge will arraign the individual on the next business day after the ticket is issued, and if it is on a weekend, the person stays in jail until the next business day.
"If they enter a plea of not guilty, they are given a trial date and cash bond," King said. "If they plead guilty, a payment plan is set up for 90 days and [that timeframe will be extended] as long as [they are] making payments."
The city ordinance state: "A. It is unlawful for any person, between the hours of midnight and sunrise, to sleep on any street, in any other public place, or on any property of another without the express or tacit [sic] consent of the owner or person in charge of such place. B. It is unlawful for a person to loiter on or about the premises of any public or private property or other public building."
John Beckman, manager of the Tahlequah Men's Shelter, said there many people sleeping on the banks of the Illinois River.
"A man was brought in early hours on Jan. 28 by two sheriff's deputies and we put him up for the night," Beckman said.
Cherokee County Sheriff Jason Chennault said his office is not ticketing anyone in the county for sleeping by the river. He said CCSO has brought individuals found sleeping outside to the men's shelter, but was not sure of the number.
According to the National Homelessness Law Center, all this case before SCOTUS says is, "...unless everybody has access to shelter that meets their needs, they cannot be arrested, ticketed, or otherwise punished for sleeping outside."
Several organizations are working on the local homeless situation, including Tahlequah Resource Outreach Team, Working to Recover, Assist and Prevent, and recently "Operation Warmth," offering shelter in extreme weather at First United Methodist Church.
James Kirk, who has recently returned to Tahlequah, was eating lunch at the Day Center.
"It's sleeping at night — and staying warm at night — is where I have problems. I wouldn't destroy any bathroom at night. I wouldn't do it at your house, I wouldn't do it in a public bathroom. Why would I? I've gone into bathrooms and they are trashed. No wonder the police treat people like trash on the bathroom part," Kirk said.
Kirt thinks that if a person is sleeping on a park bench at night, the police shouldn't have a right to awake the individual and tell them to go down to the river.
"There for a while, there was no place to get warm except for the laundromat. Being homeless — unless it has happened to you, you don't know what you are going to encounter," Kirk said. "It's bad enough in the day time but at night. ..."
Kirk said homeless individuals shouldn't be treated less than other citizens.
"We are people — we are human beings, like anybody else," Kirk said. "I've had an officer tell me to stay on the sidewalk and don't try and cut through. Would they tell their father-in-law that, their children?"
