Associated Press - November 8, 2009 12:14 PM ET

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Seven homeless Boise residents are suing the city, saying that rules against camping in public spaces amount to cruel and unusual punishment in a city where homeless shelters are overflowing.

The lawsuit, filed last month in federal court, targets city rules that advocates say amount to criminalization of homelessness.

Boise City Attorney Scott Muir said he couldn't comment on pending litigation, and the plaintiffs in the case could not be immediately reached because they do not have an address or phone number.

But Tulin Ozdegre, an attorney with the National Center on Homelessness and Poverty who is representing the Boise homeless residents, said the center was also pursuing similar cases in St. Petersburg, Fla. and Dallas.

Lawsuits brought by other groups are under way in Portland, Ore. and Santa Barbara, Calif.

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