Attorney General Knudsen spearheaded a coalition of 24 states urging the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s decision in March. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a previous ruling by a lower court that prevented states and local governments from enforcing laws aimed at preventing public spaces from turning into homeless encampments.
Following the decision in Johnson v. City of Grants Pass, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued the following statement
:“This is a huge win for cities across Montana that are suffering from unsafe public spaces. For too long local governments have been unable to address the rampant homeless camps and their side effects in communities across the state because their hands were tied. Cities like Bozeman and Missoula can’t hide behind the lower court’s flawed decision any longer. Now, they can enforce the laws that stop Montana streets from becoming camps for the homeless.”