Justice Department Says It’s Not Illegal To Sleep Outside

If I want to sleep in my backyard, no one is going to hassle me (except maybe a few birds and the odd possum), but if I want to take a nap in a public park I may be violating some city ordinance and find myself fined or arrested. But lawyers for the U.S. Dept. of Justice say that laws barring people from sleeping in public spaces are unconstitutional.

In Idaho, some homeless people are challenging a Boise city ordinance against sleeping or camping in public spaces. Last week, lawyers for the DOJ contributed a “statement of interest” [PDF] that supports their contention that, because the city lacks sufficient shelter space, these local laws effectively criminally homelessness in violation of the Eighth Amendment, which limits government’s ability to determine which type of behavior can be treated as criminal.

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