The Supreme Court tackles homeless right to sleep outside

The Supreme Court tackles homeless right to sleep outside | GZERO World

Is sleeping like breathing? Do Americans have a Constitutional right to sleep? In April, Supreme Court justices heard a case involving homeless encampments and whether cities that don’t provide shelter space can arrest or fine people for sleeping outside. At oral arguments, they asked philosophical questions about the idea of sleeping and whether or not providing space to sleep qualifies as “cruel and unusual” punishment under the 8th Amendment of the Constitution.

Legal expert Emily Bazelon joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to unpack some of the biggest cases before the Supreme Court this year. Former President Trump’s legal woes are front and center in the news, but many other major issues are at stake during this court term, including homelessness, gun rights, free speech on social media, and the power of federal agencies to interpret laws.

One case in front of the Court this year that isn’t generating a lot of headlines but will have a big impact on the daily lives of Americans involves the landmark 1984 Chevron v. Natural Resources Defence Council decision that provides the legal bases for government agencies like the EPA, SEC, and FDA to interpret laws how they see fit if they are ambiguous. At oral arguments, the Court’s conservative majority seemed skeptical of allowing the Chevron ruling as it stands to remain in place, which will fundamentally change the way the federal government operates.

“One way to think about these agencies is that they keep us safe. They make sure the water is clean and that the air is clean,” Bazelon explains. “Another way to think about them is they're intruding on corporate profits and taking up too much power.”

Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on US public television (check local listings) and online.

More from GZERO Media

Demonstrators rally against President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk during a Hands Off! protest on the Washington Monument grounds in Washington, DC, on April 5, 2025.
REUTERS/Tierney L Cross

US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs have been met with anger, outrage, and disbelief in every corner of the world – including islands inhabited solely by penguins. At last count, over 50 countries want to talk trade with Washington, while in the US, opposition to Trump’s presidency is getting organized. Here’s a look at this weekend’s reactions.

President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the entrance of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 4, 2025.
REUTERS/Leah Millis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. It will be his second such visit since Trump’s inauguration in January, and it comes after the president’s impromptu invitation last Thursday, when the two men spoke by phone about new US tariffs. They are expected to discuss those – and a whole lot more.

Marine Le Pen spoke at a support rally organized in Paris on Sunday.
Gabriel Pacheco/Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect

Thousands of supporters of France’s far right gathered at Place Vauban in Paris on Sunday to support Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally party. The three-time presidential candidate was recently convicted of embezzling European Union funds to pay staff, resulting in a five-year ban on holding public office, effectively barring her from France’s 2027 presidential election.

Members of the M23 rebel group stand guard as people attend a rally addressed by Corneille Nangaa, Congolese rebel leader and coordinator of the AFC-M23 movement, in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 27, 2025.

REUTERS/Victoire Mukenge

Representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 rebel group held peace talks in Doha, Qatar, last week to resolve the armed conflict engulfing eastern DRC since January. Qatari mediators began facilitating private discussions ahead of the first formal meeting between the two groups, planned for April 9.

People celebrate after President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment was accepted, near the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, on April 4, 2025.
REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Friday voted unanimously to oust impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol over his decision to declare martial law in December. Supporters of Yoon who gathered near the presidential residence in Seoul reportedly cried out in disappointment as the court’s 8-0 decision was announced. Others cheered the ruling. The center-right leader is now the second South Korean president to be ousted.

President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he leaves the White House for a trip to Florida on April 3, 2025.
Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via Reuters

Stocks have plummeted, layoffs have begun, and confusion has metastasized about the bizarre method the United States used to calculate its tariff formula. But Donald Trump says it’s “going very well."