Is ticketing homeless people a cruel and unusual punishment?
The question has confounded western cities. The Supreme Court will weigh in

IN 2013 local leaders in Grants Pass, Oregon, held a meeting to brainstorm ideas for how to tackle the city’s growing “vagrancy problem”. A record of that meeting states that participants suggested “driving repeat offenders out of town and leaving them there”, and buying homeless people a bus ticket to anywhere else. “The point”, said Lily Morgan, a city-council member, “is to make it uncomfortable enough for them in our city so they will want to move on down the road.”
Explore more
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Sleeping rough”
United States April 20th 2024
- Donald Trump’s first criminal trial will be both momentous and tawdry
- America’s trust in its institutions has collapsed
- Is ticketing homeless people a cruel and unusual punishment?
- The White House unveils a pair of bad policies to woo voters
- Lots of state legislators believe any contact with fentanyl is fatal
- How two small Texas towns became the patent-law centre of America
- Truth Social is a mind-bending win for Donald Trump
More from United States

Kamala Harris introduces “Coach” Tim Walz, her trusty running-mate
As Republicans seek to brand their rivals as dangerously liberal, Democrats are matching Donald Trump’s public displays of enthusiasm

Why Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz as her running-mate
Compared with a bolder but more divisive alternative, the Minnesota governor was the easier choice

Kamala Harris leads Donald Trump in our nationwide poll tracker
It is the first lead for a Democratic contender since October 2023
Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history
Her triumphant comeback at the Paris Olympics confirms her as also one of the most popular
Why do conservatives in America love Zyn?
A nicotine pouch has stimulated America’s young men—and the culture wars