“You don’t arrest babies…You don’t arrest people who are sleeping on the beach…You only arrest people who don’t have a home”: Sotomayor’s dissent on recent camping ban case shines a revealing light on Boulder’s homelessness policy says ACLU lawyer

The Supreme Court ruled last month that cities can ticket people sleeping with a blanket in public spaces even when they have no other place to sleep.

Many homeless advocates, civil rights groups, and experts criticized the court’s 6-3 decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson. They argued the decision could lead to increased criminalization of homelessness and potentially violate constitutional protections.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent that penalizing homeless individuals for sleeping outside when they have no other options is not only cruel but also fails to address the root causes of homelessness. During oral arguments, she asked the Oregon defense attorney, “You don’t arrest babies who have blankets over them. You don’t arrest people who are sleeping on the beach, as I tend to do if I’ve been there a while. You only arrest people who don’t have a home, is that correct?”

Boulder County District Court Judge Robert R. Gunning paused proceedings on Boulder’s camping ban lawsuit in April, saying the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass would “hold tremendous weight” in shaping the outcome of Boulder’s suit.

Tim Macdonald, the legal director for the ACLU of Colorado, argues that Gunning should not have paused the lawsuit in the first place because the Boulder ACLU lawsuit challenges the camping ban’s compliance with the Colorado Constitution, not the U.S. Constitution. As the Supreme Court moves further to the right, Colorado’s Constitution has less relevance to federal law, says Macdonald.

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