Last month, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in City of Boise v. Martin, a case out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The case involved a challenge to Boise’s enforcement of its criminal law prohibiting public camping against the homeless. The Ninth Circuit held that the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the enforcement of the law against the homeless when there are insufficient beds available in shelters. Although the Court denied review, the Ninth Circuit’s decision raises many important questions about many issues, including the effect on the homeless and surrounding communities, ways that law enforcement might react to their inability to enforce this law, and the potential constraints placed on the approximately 1600 municipalities in the Ninth Circuit—in particular San Francisco and Los Angeles, which have significant homeless populations—in their efforts to combat homelessness and the ills associated with it. Learn about this case's history, facts, unresolved questions, and legal implications moving forward.

Featuring:
-- Prof. Andrew Hessick, Judge John J. Parker Distinguished Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Strategy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law
-- Prof. Carissa Hessick, Anne Shea Ransdell and William Garland "Buck" Ransdell, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Faculty Development, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law
-- Moderator: Hon. Eileen J. O'Connor, Law Office of Eileen J. O'Connor, PLLC