We The People

What are the powers of local, state, and federal governments to manage a public health crisis? What legal and constitutional rights do Americans maintain? Jeffrey Rosen explores that question and more with public health law experts Polly Price of Emory University School of Law and Ed Richards of Louisiana State University Law Center. Starting with the history of quarantines prior to and during the Founding era, they explain how the government combatted diseases when, as Ed puts it, “The colonies were basically fever-ridden swamps.” Drawing examples from public health responses to outbreaks of yellow fever and the 1918 influenza pandemic through the AIDS epidemic and SARS, they answer questions including: What restrictions can government authorities enact under the Constitution during a pandemic—from quarantines to isolation measures, to shutting down private businesses? How do the powers of state and federal governments interact during emergency scenarios? Would it be constitutional for the government to impo