Cargill: Washington state Supreme Court ignores voters, makes homeless challenge worse

The United States Supreme Court ruled. Voters decided. Other states have acted. But all of this wasn’t enough for justices on the Washington state Supreme Court.

That court on Thursday brazenly tossed a 2023 initiative in Spokane that prevented homeless camping within 1,000 feet of public areas including schools, childcare centers and parks.

Concluding the measure was “administrative” in nature, rather than a policy matter, justices claimed it couldn’t be brought to voters. The state Supreme Court was the only court to rule that way, with other courts upholding the measure, calling it a “classic vagrancy ordinance.”

The ruling will have chilling effects on the future of enforcing homeless camping laws in Washington. The dissent warns that the ruling “effectively eliminates local initiative power.” Indeed, it now seems impossible for any measure to be adopted in Washington unless local politicians approve and don’t give voters a choice.
Leadership of large northwest cities have been reluctant to fix the homeless problem via enforcement, even after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson.

That case began when the City of Grants Pass, Oregon, enforced city ordinances that prevented camping and sleeping in public parks by issuing civil citations and fines to violators. The plaintiffs in the case contested the citations received under these ordinances as ‘cruel and unusual punishment,’ claiming that no other option for sleeping existed for them.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that imposing civil penalties on homeless people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go is unconstitutional. That ruling essentially handcuffed policymakers throughout the West. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, for example, said: “California has invested billions to address homelessness, but rulings from the bench have tied the hands of state and local governments to address this issue. The Supreme Court can now correct course and end the costly delays from lawsuits that have plagued our efforts to clear encampments and deliver services to those in need.”

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed. Writing for a 6-3 majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch said: “Homelessness is complex. Its causes are many. So may be the public policy responses required to address it. At bottom, the question this case presents is whether the Eighth Amendment grants federal judges primary responsibility for assessing those causes and devising those responses. It does not.”

Local leaders in communities where homeless encampments are out of control applauded the ruling, not only from the standpoint of public health but also public safety.

But for months after the voter initiative passed, and even after the court ruled, leaders in Spokane were slow to enforce the measure. Now, with an outrageous assist from the Washington state Supreme Court, they don’t have to.

The failed Washington state policies that led to the problem will continue. And it will likely only get worse.
Voters tried to stop it. Government officials think they know better. Perhaps Washingtonians need to look toward states like Idaho to see how the issue can be successfully addressed.

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Chris Cargill is the president of Mountain States Policy Center, an independent free market think tank based in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Eastern Washington. Online at mountainstatespolicy.org.