BOISE, Idaho — The way homelessness looks in Idaho and other states across the West partly depends on two court cases — Martin v. City of Boise and Johnson v. City of Grants Pass.
The court ruled in those cases that people experiencing homelessness can sleep outside if shelters are full and they have nowhere else to go. But there is a recent effort from some West Coast cities, counties and state leaders to review the Johnson case.
Boise mayoral candidates Lauren McLean and Mike Masterson have differing opinions on petitioning the Supreme Court.
"With community commitment and extensive partnership, we're delivering housing with the services needed to get folks off the streets and into homes," McLean said. "We can do that without joining these folks and asking the Supreme Court for a different decision for a different decision."
While McLean said she does not support using taxpayer money to get Johnson possibly overturned, Masterson thinks Boise should get a say if something were to change.
McLean said although there was a lot of 'fearmongering' when the Martin decision came out, she believes Boise prevailed and handled the ruling better than other cities like Seattle, Portland and San Francisco.
Johnson v. City of Grants pass happened after Martin and expanded on what people experiencing homelessness can and cannot do.
Masterson said he agrees with the outcome of Martin, which essentially means law enforcement cannot criminalize homelessness. However, he thinks the Supreme Court should reconsider Johnson because the ruling created more questions than answers.
"What happens when the administrative sanction leads to a criminal action, such as 'I give you two tickets that are fine only, you don't do anything with them, it leads to an arrest warrant, it then becomes a crime.' Those are the types of issues that I don't think were addressed appropriately in the appeals court," he said.
If elected, Masterson said he would consider other approaches to addressing homelessness. One option is expanding the conservatorship program, something California recently did.
Raúl Labrador also wants the Supreme Court to revisit Johnson. He recently filed an amicus brief regarding the situation because "The Ninth Circuit's flawed ruling stripped authority from state and local governments in addressing homelessness."
"The consequence of Western cities being unable to enforce homelessness ordinances has led to unregulated public encampments, giving rise to a multitude of public health and safety crises," Labrador stated in a news release.
A lawyer told KTVB over the phone the precedent Martin set would likely change if Johnson were changed or overturned.
Tune into KTVB Tuesday at 6 p.m. for a televised mayoral debate between Masterson and McLean.
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