![]() In Compagnie Francaise de Navigation a Vapeur v. In 1902, the Supreme Court directly addressed a state’s power to quarantine an entire geographical area. Marshall wrote that quarantine laws “form a portion of that immense mass of legislation which embraces everything within the territory of a state not surrendered to the general government.” Those police powers, he explained, include the ability to impose isolation and quarantine conditions. In a unanimous ruling, then-Chief Justice John Marshall cited the 10th Amendment in saying that police powers are largely reserved to states for activities within their borders. Ogden between the state and federal governments when it came to regulating activities within and between states. In 1824, the Supreme Court drew a clear line in Gibbons v. The power to quarantine and take even more stringent measures in the name of public health has belonged largely to the states for nearly 200 years. They also posted a law enforcement officer outside the man's home. ![]() When a 53-year-old Kentucky man who tested positive for COVID-19 refused to self-isolate, for example, state officials there obtained a court order to force him to isolate himself. Curfews are another tool they can impose.Īs outlined by the National Conference of State Legislatures, emergency health laws vary by state. The governors’ orders, akin to shelter-in-place directives, affect tens of millions in the affected states. And, as a growing number of governors have done in recent days, states can order residents to stay at home with exceptions for essential work, food or other needs. They can also direct that those who are sick with a quarantinable communicable disease be isolated from people who are not sick. They can, for example, order quarantines to separate and restrict the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick. With states adopting emergency measures, there are several broad public health tools that governors can invoke. The 10th Amendment, which gives states all powers not specifically given to the federal government, allows them the authority to take public health emergency actions, such as setting quarantines and business restrictions. Supreme Court decisions over nearly 200 years, state governments have the primary authority to control the spread of dangerous diseases within their jurisdictions. Also, the federal Public Health Service Act authorizes the secretary of Health and Human Services to lead federal public health and medical responses related to public health emergencies. Through the Commerce Clause, which gives Congress exclusive authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, the federal government has broad authority to quarantine and impose other health measures to prevent the spread of diseases from foreign countries, as well as between states although that has never been affirmed by the courts. The federal government’s power is limited to certain circumstances. Never have state and federal powers been tested to the extent that we are seeing today. Under what legal authority do such orders fall – and are there legal limits on government actions during a health emergency? Trade, Sports & Professional AssociationsĪs COVID-19 continues its assault on the country, residents in more than 10 states have been ordered to stay home and businesses, including restaurants, health clubs and entire malls, have been closed as governors nationwide take extraordinary steps in an effort to protect public health.
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