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Article
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Emergency Legal Preparedness & Response: U.S. Supreme Court Impacts
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James G. Hodge Jr. and Jennifer L. Piatt
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Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law Paper No. 4933720 (August 23, 2024)
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Open Access
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Abstract: U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) opinions from the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic to date are reshaping national and regional abilities to respond to public health emergencies (PHEs). Substantial impacts in emergency legal preparedness and response include the Court's: (1) recalibrating federal executive and administrative agency emergency authorities; (2) altering base-level rights and access to emergency care; (3) elevating First Amendment religious principles visa -vis social distancing; (4) restricting vaccination and other public health interventions; (5) asserting race-based limitations applicable in public health resource allocations; (6) addressing misinformation; (7) approaching gun violence as a public health threat; and (8) clarifying the scope of liability during and after emergencies. Against this backdrop an array of legal options and critical take-aways may help mitigate SCOTUS' impacts to advance effective emergency responses ahead.
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