Hello and happy Tuesday. There are 195 days until the election and we’re in the Supreme Court today, where SMS showed up like the new RBG.
That’s Sonia Maria Sotomayor, first Hispanic justice on the court and a lady you don’t want to mess with, as the lawyer for Grants Pass found out (the justices on Monday heard oral arguments in City of Grants Pass, Ore., vs. Gloria Johnson).
Here’s why that much-hyped case may turn out to be a big nothing. And how SMS led the court’s liberal alliance arguing that conclusion.
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Robert Tolson, 60, tries to stay warm on a cold, rainy, windy day in Los Angeles in February 2023.
(Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
What Grants Pass isn’t
If you read any news, or even secretly get your worldview from TikTok, you’re already sick of hearing about Grants Pass and how the outcome of this case will forever determine how we deal with homelessness.
But stick with me, because much of what you’ve heard isn’t quite true.
Here’s what you probably already know:
- Grants Pass passed a law against public sleeping, in particular snoozing with a blanket.
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit stayed the law, saying it was cruel and unusual punishment that was basically making it illegal to be homeless.
- Politicians and local government leaders have since been in a tizzy that Grants Pass “ties our hands” when it comes to doing anything about encampments — as if Grants Pass is the boogeyman of legal decisions that will attack from the shadows if you so much as think about moving a tent.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has even said Grants Pass and associated lawsuits…