Supreme Court affirms homeless peoples' right to be on public property

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to let Boise ban people from sleeping rough.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Boise would be violating the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishments by enforcing criminal penalties under its anti-camping ordinance when its three homeless shelters are full.

"The state may not criminalize conduct that is an unavoidable consequence of being homeless -- namely sitting, lying, or sleeping on the streets," the 9th Circuit said.

State abuse of the homeless is one of the nastier trends in 21st century governance-the end is usually accomplished by more subtle means (pictured) than criminalization.