A federal court upheld its previous ruling that cities cannot criminalize homeless people for sleeping outdoors if they have no adequate alternatives.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, rejected a petition Monday for a rehearing from the city of Boise, Idaho, in the case of Martin v. Boise. The court essentially maintained its September 2018 ruling that prosecuting or otherwise punishing homeless people for sleeping on the street if they have nowhere else to go qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment and is unconstitutional.

The September ruling applied to all cities in the 9th Circuits jurisdiction, which encompasses western U.S. states including California, Washington, Oregon and more.

The case stems from a 2009 lawsuit filed on behalf of six homeless Boise residents that claimed the citys citations under its camping and disorderly conduct ordinances violated the Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment.

The ordinances criminalizing sleeping in public places were never a viable solution to the homelessness problem, Judge Marsha S. Berzon wrote in Mondays opinion. People with no place to live will sleep outside if they have no alternative.

The judge added that putting people in jail was both unconstitutional and, in all likelihood, pointless.

The distressing homelessness problem distressing to the people with nowhere to live as well as to the rest of society has grown into a crisis for many reasons, among them the cost of housing, she added, noting that the crisis has continued to grow despite cities ordinances prohibiting sleeping in public places.