Removing unhoused people from tent camps in Albuquerque argued before N.M. Supreme Court

About a week before winter begins, New Mexico’s largest city is asking its highest court to strike down a judge’s order telling them to stop their yearslong practice of forcibly relocating unhoused off of outdoor public property.

The Albuquerque Police Department and the Solid Waste Department have continued the practice even after public health officials said clearing homeless camps accelerates the spread of SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.

A group of unhoused Albuquerque residents sued the city in March, along with the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.

Second Judicial District Court Judge Joshua Allison concluded on Sept. 21 that when Albuquerque police use otherwise valid laws to criminalize someone on public property with their belongings, that it can amount to cruel and unusual punishment, which violates the Eighth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.

Read more: https://sourcenm.com/2023/12/15/removing-unhoused-people-from-tent-camps-in-albuquerque-argued-before-n-m-supreme-court/