Denver Anti-Camping Law Exercise

Section 38-86.2 of the Denver Municipal Code criminalizes camping on public property (or private property) without permission. It provides for up to 60 days in jail, but no fine. The law mostly acts to afford police the power to arrest and physically remove people rather than actually to prosecute, convict, and jail them. (Though they could be jailed, pre-trial, or involuntarily committed). 

In fairness, Mayor Johnston's current plan appears to avoid arrests and has focused thus far on removing people only when there is a particular place to house them. 

But we will use this law as an exercise to determine whether the law is void because too vague. Does it give fair notice as to what is prohibited? Does it afford law enforcement too much discretion in when to enforce, or against whom? 

A word on terminology: many advocates use terms such as "person experiencing homelessness" or "the unhoused." These advocates say their terms restore the humanity or human dignity to that population. "Unhoused" emphasizes that the problem is a lack of housing, and hints that the unhoused have a home in the sense of a city or community that is their home, but lack a fixed abode (or, if they have a tent, a legally recognized abode). Of course, these newer terms can sound sterile, awkward, or bureaucratic, and be off-putting to the uninitiated. I will use both "homeless" and "unhoused, " but I want to encourage everyone to use the terms they prefer!