The Supreme Court case that could impact the homeless coast-to-coast

With foothills rising above, Boise, Idaho is a place of beauty. But it's the city's less scenic quarters, dead ends and back alleys that were Robert Martin's home, on and off, for 15 years. On nights when Boise's homeless shelters were full, Martin got sleep wherever he could. "There were times I've slept in garage stairwells, on cement, slept in rock, up under overpasses in the rocks and dirt," he said.

But in Boise, sleeping or camping on public property was against the law. Martin was one of many ticketed and fined for sleeping in public.

Howard Belodoff, of Idaho Legal Aid Services, saw a constitutional issue in Boise's camping ordinance, and made a federal case out of it. "Robert's case, I thought it was actually a vivid portrayal of the situation that homeless people find themselves in," Belodoff said. "Here's a guy, he has no place to sleep. He's been walking around all night because he's been warned you can't quote-unquote camp, which just means you can't have a blanket around you."