On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Warns Communities Against Adopting Draconian Measures That Criminalize Homelessness and Violate Civil Liberties
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Amid a growing national wave of punitive measures targeting the homeless—including President Trump’s July 2025 executive order directing federal agencies to clear encampments—The Rutherford Institute is cautioning communities against adopting policies that risk criminalizing poverty and eroding civil liberties.
Responding to a proposed ordinance before the Charlottesville City Council that would ban “unpermitted camping” and personal storage on city property, Rutherford Institute attorneys warn that the measure risks criminalizing homelessness, violating constitutional rights, and setting a dangerous precedent for civil liberties. The ordinance would make ‘unpermitted camping’ a Class 4 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $250, and would authorize police to confiscate or destroy belongings.
“As a city that has long prided itself on being a vibrant community that values justice, fairness, and human dignity, Charlottesville should not follow a national trend toward criminalization of poverty but should lead by example,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. “Charlottesville has an opportunity to show that constitutional rights, public health, and community safety are not mutually exclusive.”
The Charlottesville City Council is considering an ordinance that would ban “unpermitted camping” and personal storage on city property. Framed as a response to concerns about safety, sanitation, and accessibility, the ordinance would in practice risk turning homelessness itself into a crime by making “unpermitted camping” a Class 4 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $250, and would authorize police to confiscate or destroy personal belongings from encampments.
This debate comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson. Although the Court upheld an Oregon city’s enforcement of anti-camping laws against Eighth Amendment challenges, it did not require them and left intact other constitutional protections. In a 6–3 decision, the Court held that the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment does not categorically forbid cities from penalizing people for sleeping or camping in public. However, as one of the amici before the Court in Grants Pass, The Rutherford Institute notes that the Court’s ruling did not give municipalities a blank check to override Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment protections that safeguard people from unlawful property seizures and ensure due process. Institute attorneys warned that criminalizing homelessness—making it a crime to be poor and without housing options—can drive people into hidden and unsafe spaces away from outreach workers, and cost taxpayers more in policing and litigation than investing in solutions.
The Institute is urging the City Council to consider humane alternatives already in use elsewhere, such as safe camping zones with sanitation, rapid re-housing programs, storage facilities for personal property, and partnerships with local churches and nonprofits. The Institute’s letter to the City Council highlights multiple constitutional dangers posed by the proposed ordinance, warning that it sets the community on a slippery slope: once cities normalize punishing people for unavoidable conditions, the same tools can be turned against protesters, street vendors, or other disfavored groups the government finds inconvenient.
The Rutherford Institute’s letter to the Charlottesville City Council is available at www.rutherford.org.
The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit civil liberties organization, defends individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated and educates the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting their freedoms.
