Summary

  • The US Supreme Court has made several major rulings on Friday

  • It has ruled that a specific law focused on financial crime was improperly used to prosecute hundreds of Capitol riot defendants

  • It has thrown out the 40-year-old "Chevron deference" - a major decision affecting how federal government functions and the limits of its power

  • Justices also ruled that an Oregon town is not violating the Constitution by punishing homeless people for sleeping rough

  • The court still needs to rule on matters including whether Trump should be immune from criminal prosecution

  • The court goes on recess over the summer, meaning that it is running out of time to issue opinions on some of its most closely watched cases

Live Reporting

Edited by Lisa Lambert and Jessica Murphy, with analysis from Anthony Zurcher

  1. Court backs Oregon law ban on homeless camping

    Sam Granville
    Reporting from Los Angeles

    A group of Grants Pass residents called Park Watch demonstrate to raise awareness of the ill effects of homeless people camping in city parks, in Grants Pass, Oregon, U.S., April 17, 2024Reuters

    A group of Grants Pass residents called Park Watch in April protest to raise awareness of people who are homeless sleeping in parks

    The US Supreme Court has ruled that cities can ban homeless people from sleeping rough.

    It is the court's most significant decision on homelessness since at least the 1980s, when many experts say the modern US homeless crisis began.

    The ruling lets local governments enforce rules against people sleeping in public places without worrying about the US constitution's limits on cruel and unusual punishment.

    The case started in the small town of Grants Pass, Oregon where three homeless people sued the city after receiving citations for sleeping and camping outside.

    At a Supreme Court hearing in April, the city argued that criminal penalties were necessary to enforce local laws banning homeless people from public spaces for "reasons of cleanliness and safety".

    The homeless residents said those penalties violated the Eighth Amendment of the US constitution because the city did not have any public shelters.

    The conservative-led court appeared skeptical that it should make determinations about local laws, with some justices more inclined to leave those decisions to elected officials.

    Homelessness is on the rise in the US, fuelled in part by chronic shortages of affordable housing. Around 653,000 people did not have homes in 2023, the largest number since tracking began in 2007.

    There were also an estimated 256,000 people living without shelter on a given night across the country last year, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

  2. First opinion: Court upholds anti-camping ordinance

    Court upholds the Oregon city's camping ban, which had been contested by homeless residents and advocates. Decision is 6-3, with liberals dissenting.

  3. Welcome

    Hello, and welcome to our Supreme Court live coverage.

    We’re reaching the end of the court’s traditional June decision-dropping window, so rulings on several important cases could come any day now.

    We’re still waiting on opinions about whether former President Donald Trump is subject to prosecution for actions he took while in the White House, and whether defendants charged for the 6 January, 2021 Capitol riot - including Trump - can be tried for obstructing an official proceeding.

    You can read the decisions the court has already issued this term here.

    There are also several other rulings that could come today, including on social media moderation. Stick with us as with bring it all to you live.