Heading: Pottinger v. City of Miami, 810 F.Supp 1551, US District Court, (1992) p 152.

Facts: P filed suit on behalf of themselves and approximately 6,000 other homeless people living in Miami. Alleges the City of Miami has a custom, practice and policy of arresting, harassing and otherwise interfering with homeless people for engaging in basic activities of daily life – including sleeping and eating – in the public places where they are forced to live.

Issue: Is the arrest of homeless people for basic activities of daily living a violation of the 8^th Amendment in that it is cruel and unusual punishment?

Rule: Homeless people are in their situation involuntarily, and therefore are not at fault. Hence they should not be arrested for daily activities of living.

Holding: The court finds that the defendant’s conduct violates the eight amendment ban against cruel and unusual punishment and therefor that the defendant is liable on this count.

Rationale: Long established that a person may not be punished for involuntary status. Homeless people say there situation is involuntary. We find they do not choose be homeless. Arresting homeless people for harmless acts they are forced to perform in public effectively punishes them for being homeless.