Supreme Court lets cities deal with their homeless crisis

As cities struggled to deal with escalating homelessness, the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals did what it often does: made matters worse. In its 2018 Martin v. Boise decision, the court said cities cannot enforce anti-camping measures unless they have sufficient shelter space. Rousting the homeless, the court found, is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.”

As a result, Western cities lost their ability to keep parks and civic areas from...