The US Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a case that sparked nationwide debate between local governments and advocates for the homeless. In the certiorari petition denied Monday, counsel for the city of Boise, Idaho, had called on the high court to strike down a Ninth Circuit ruling that restricted the city’s authority to address homelessness through the use of criminal penalties.
The case—City of Boise v. Martin—stemmed from the arrests of six homeless people whom Boise prosecutors had charged with violating municipal ordinances on camping and disorderly conduct. Each of the defendants was fined and sentenced to jail time ranging from one to 90 days.
