Attorneys challenging Boulder’s camping ban argue that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which upheld cities’ rights to ticket homeless people for sleeping in public spaces, should not apply to their case before the Boulder County District Court.
A key issue in the case is whether the local court should apply the ruling from the nation’s highest court, which the City of Boulder believes it should. The plaintiffs disagree, in a new motion filed last week.
The ACLU of Colorado filed the lawsuit in May 2022 on behalf of several homeless residents and the nonprofit Feet Forward. The suit claims Boulder violated the Colorado Constitution’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment by ticketing homeless individuals who had no choice but to sleep in public spaces.
In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a similar case from Grants Pass, Oregon, that camping bans do not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S. Constitution. Boulder recently sought to dismiss the lawsuit, citing that decision, as the language around cruel and unusual punishment is identical in both the U.S. and Colorado constitutions.
However, the plaintiffs, in a new motion, asked the Boulder County District Court to disregard the Grants Pass ruling. They argue that the Colorado Supreme Court has historically interpreted similar provisions in the state constitution as offering broader civil rights protections than the U.S. Constitution. They also cited Colorado’s “proud Western history,” pointing to examples of outdoor living, including at Chautauqua, which began as an educational retreat before becoming a city park.
The plaintiffs further contend that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling did not address whether Boulder’s penalties, including jail time, are “unconstitutionally disproportionate.”
The district court judge is expected to decide in the coming months whether to dismiss the case or allow it to proceed.