A Denver County Court judge ruled on Friday that Denver’s ordinance banning urban camping violates the Eighth Amendment.
In his opinion, Judge Johnny C. Barajas wrote that the ordinance specifically violates the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause, which “imposes substantive limits on what can be made criminal and punished as such.” The court cited a recent decision from the Ninth Circuit, Martin v. City of Boise, which states that “the Eighth Amendment prohibits the imposition of criminal penalties for sitting, sleeping, or lying outside on public property for homeless individuals who cannot obtain shelter.”