Why an Oregon Case Before the Supreme Court Matters So Much to California

The Supreme Court began hearing a case yesterday that could have profound implications for how the United States deals with its escalating homelessness crisis.The case, City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, asks whether fining homeless people for sleeping outside when there isn’t adequate shelter space for them amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Though the case originated in Oregon, it is being watched across the country, perhaps nowhere more closely than in California.More than 180,000 people are homeless in California, a figure that has grown significantly over the past decade. That is…