This past July, a homeless Portland woman was charged with third-degree theft when she plugged her cellphone charger into an outlet on a sidewalk planter box in Old Town.

Cases in which people are charged with theft for plugging electronic devices into private outlets are uncommon, but defense attorneys say they’re another example of resources wasted for frivolous offenses.

Kenneth Ricks is homeless for the first time in his life. The 51-year-old has lived in New York since he was born, but after he lost his job, had his foot amputated following an accident and spent six months in hospital, he could no longer keep up the rental payments on his Flatbush, Brooklyn apartment.

On the heels of a damning new report, the Right to Rest campaign pushes for statewide legislation to stop discrimination against homeless people. Cities in the United States have a long history of criminalizing the public presence of people they consider undesirable. In the late 1800s, Southern cities established “sundown towns,” laws that restricted black people from being outside after sunset. Throughout the 19th century, cities ratified “ugly laws,” banning people who were diseased or deformed from being outside. During the Great Depression, California cities passed an “anti-Okie” law, making it illegal to assist poor people entering the state.

Civil rights groups and anti-poverty advocates are raising serious concerns after the U.S. Supreme Court hear orals arguments in case challenging the federal Fair Housing Act on Wednesday. The ultimate ruling in the case could have profound implications for those who benefit from the landmark legislation signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968, just days after the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr..