PORT ANGELES — Clallam County leaders have been discussing steps to reduce service barriers for individuals experiencing homelessness in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson.
The Grants Pass ruling allows state and local governments to impose criminal penalties, such as fines and jail time, for individuals who violate ordinances that prohibit public sleeping or camping, even if those individuals lack ability to access shelters or other housing.
The case overturned the Ninth Circuit ruling in Martin v. City of Boise (2019). The Ninth Circuit includes Washington, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, California, Hawaii, Alaska and two territories.
In Martin, the Ninth Circuit ruled that enforcing anti-camping laws when individuals lack available shelter violated the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Now, because of the Grants Pass ruling, that no longer stands.
“What the Grants Pass decision really does is allow for local jurisdictions to codify crimes for persons who choose to publicly camp or publicly sleep in areas that are closed to those activities,” Clallam County prosecuting attorney Mark Nichols said.
Nichols said some Ninth Circuit jurisdictions likely will use the court ruling to pass stricter laws surrounding public camping and sleeping.
“Others will likely take a more even-handed and cautious approach,” Nichols said.
One reason for that is that the state constitution might provide greater protection against cruel punishment than the Eighth Amendment does, Nichols said. Because of that, anti-camping codes may face a higher legal bar in Washington than they do elsewhere in the Ninth Circuit.
While Jefferson County hasn’t discussed the decision or its impacts in detail, commissioner Greg Brotherton said the county is continuing its efforts to serve its homeless population.
Counties, cities impact
Clallam County, Jefferson County and some local cities have ordinances related to public camping.
“There’s a variety of other spaces that belong to other government entities that aren’t that interested in controlling their property,” Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith said during a Clallam County Board of Health meeting.
Clallam County’s code bans camping in parking lots, roadways, county grounds, county-owned land adjacent to county roads and any other place that is not a designated campsite.
Jefferson County code only allows camping at designated locations, such as campgrounds.
Brotherton said that, as the Grant’s Pass decision was coming down, the county continued its efforts to operate its emergency shelter.
“[We] plan to continue to do what we can to use a public health and harm-reduction approach to address the persistent issues that our lack of housing supply and appropriate social and medical supports contribute to,” Brotherton wrote in an email interview.
Sequim doesn’t have a camping-specific ordinance, although its code does restrict unauthorized individuals from being in a public park or playground after the posted closing time. City council member Dan Butler said the city isn’t likely to change how it approaches these issues.
Port Townsend has an ordinance that prohibits camping or sleeping in city parks overnight.
City Manager John Mauro said that, although the decision does provide jurisdictions greater flexibility to remove camps, he does not expect the decision to have a sudden impact on the Port Townsend community.
“We’re currently trying our best to protect the dignity and safety of all members of our community,” Mauro wrote in an email interview. “Our police and planning teams have been working in partnership with regional agencies to provide services and shelter for the unhoused population.”
Port Townsend also recently passed an emergency shelter and housing ordinance that allows shelters in commercial zones, and the city allows safe parking by sponsoring agencies that meet certain requirements, Mauro said.
Port Angeles code prohibits camping in any city facility, city-owned property or a city park without a camping permit from the Parks and Recreation director. City council member Amy Miller said the city isn’t planning on passing stricter camping codes in wake of the Grants Pass decision.
During a Clallam County Homelessness Task Force meeting, at-large member Joyce Stuart said Port Angeles’ prohibition on camping in parks negatively impacts people experiencing homelessness.
In one instance, individuals who couldn’t sleep in the parks began camping on the Salvation Army’s property, Stuart said. They were then trespassed from the Salvation Army for three months, leaving them without access to daily meals.
Miller, who also is a committee member, indicated a desire to look at city code and find simple changes that would reduce barriers for individuals who are experiencing homelessness.
“We want to be part of the solution and not make it harder for people,” Miller said.
The task force identified trespassing as a barrier to providing homelessness services and formed a subcommittee to find solutions. The subcommittee is composed of Miller, Stuart, Cheri Tinker, the executive director of Sarge’s Veteran Support, and Viola Ware, the director of housing and community development at Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP).
Law enforcement, prosecution response
Local law enforcement officials said they won’t see much change from the Grants Pass case.
“It’s not going to change anything,” Smith said.
Part of that is because of how the Port Angeles Police Department handles those situations. Smith said it is a long process aimed at voluntary compliance.
When responding to situations in which an individual is homeless, the police department works with the Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic’s REdisCOVERY program, an interdisciplinary team that provides outreach, navigation, service linkage, case management, and medical and behavioral care.
“We have a real continuum of conversation trying to get you to services, trying to get you to follow the rules, can we help you? That happens over and over and over again,” Smith said.
Nichols said Port Angeles has several programs that try to provide “off-ramps” for individuals so they don’t encounter the criminal justice system.
Clallam County Sheriff Brian King said the decision won’t impact the county’s response, either.
“Chief Smith and I have discussed this, and we certainly don’t see any significant change in the way that we interact with individuals experiencing homelessness, nor do we foresee any increase in charges related to trespass or other public nuisance-related crimes,” King wrote in an email interview.
While law enforcement’s first, second and third steps are to help individuals get resources, King said there are occasionally individuals who resist the outreach and resources that are offered.
For those individuals, King and Smith said enforcement steps eventually are taken. The case then gets referred to the Clallam County prosecutor’s office, which decides whether it wants to take the case.
“Local law enforcement tries to find other ways other than referring them,” Nichols said. “[Criminal prosecution] is a remedy of last resort and is reserved for those offenders who willfully violate the law.”
While the prosecutor’s office doesn’t see many referrals from law enforcement, Nichols said it’s an important option that needs to be available to deter willful noncompliance.
Smith said it would be great if the Grants Pass decision “convinces some to take help and get into services.”
King hopes the decision “will incentivize those needing resource to engage in outreach with the interdisciplinary teams.”
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
