Health Law and Policy Commons^™

When Governors Prioritize Individual Freedom Over Public Health: Tort Liability For Government Failures, Barbara Pfeffer Billauer Jd, Ma, Phd

Journal of Law and Health

Over half the states have enacted laws diminishing or curtailing the rights of the executive branch (legislatures or governors) to enact laws to preserve, protect, or safeguard public health in the wake of the COVID-19 emergency. Governor DeSantis, of Florida, for example, effectively banned mask mandates in schools during the high point of the epidemic – based on flawed science and erroneous data – and now wants to make that response permanent. The rules effectuating this Executive Order were enacted under an emergency order finding a threat to public health. Nevertheless, the response promulgated by the Florida Department of Health …

Texas Disaster Act And The Covid-19 Pandemic: The Validity Of School Mask Mandates And How The Texas Supreme Court Engaged In A Legal And Ethical Disaster, Ron Beal

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Urgensi Pengaturan Rapat Umum Pemegang Saham Secara Elektronik Di Tengah Pandemi Covid-19, Hafit Rusli

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

This research analyze arrangement regarding implementation of electronic RUPS to respond enactment of Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar (PSBB) in Indonesia during COVID-19 pandemic. This is a juridical normative research that will be focused on library research that examine legal principles, systematic system of law, and legal synchronization by analyzing the urgency to issue rules and regulation related to implementation of electronic RUPS. Unless to the public company, there is no technical regulation which specifies implementation of electronic RUPS. Terms and conditions of electionic RUPS in the Law No.40 Year 2007 regarding Limited Liability Law could rises misunderstanding to the stakeholders …

Giving Heroes Their Shields: Providing More Immunity To The Healthcare Industry During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Gabriella Levine

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

The year is 2022. We are experiencing a global pandemic and economic uncertainty. And while traffic might have improved, as many work remotely and socially distance, everything else is unknown as people are face-to-face with death. The future has never looked bleaker.

As of September 12, 2022, there were 1,044,461 Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) related deaths and 94,973,074 reported COVID-19 cases in the United States (“U.S.”). The effects of COVID-19 impacted people who contracted the disease, family members who lost someone, and people at risk who have been in isolation for over one year.

Another group that has been heavily affected …

Protecting A Woman’S Right To Abortion During A Public Health Crisis, San Juanita Gonzalez

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

As COVID-19 infected our nation, states were quick to issue executive orders restricting various aspects of daily life under the pretense of public safety. It was clear at the outset that certain civil liberties were going to be tested. Among them, the constitutional right to an abortion.

This comment explores Texas’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the limitations it imposed on abortion access. It will attempt to address the legitimacy of the “public health concerns” listed in executive orders issued throughout numerous states and will discuss the pertinent legal framework and judicial scrutiny to apply.

According to the Fifth …

Health Choice Or Health Coercion? The Osha Emergency Temporary Standard Covid-19 Vaccination Mandates: Ax Or Vax, Savannah Snyder

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

No abstract provided.

The Case For The Rodeo: An Analysis Of The Houston Livestock Show And Rodeo’S Inverse Condemnation Case Against The City Of Houston, Emilio R. Longoria

St. Mary's Law Journal

On March 11, 2020, Mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, (the Mayor) forced the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to close in order to slow the transmission rate of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). This use of the Mayor’s police powers caused a severe economic disruption, which the Rodeo is still recovering from today. This Article makes the case that the City’s forced closure of the Rodeo was a compensable taking under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article 1, Section 17 of the Texas Constitution—regardless of the fact the City acted pursuant to its police powers. Such a finding …

Tort Immunity In The Pandemic, Betsy J. Grey, Samantha Orwoll

Indiana Law Journal

The Covid-19 pandemic set off a public health emergency that quickly brought doctors and other health care providers to the front line, while shuttering businesses throughout the United States. In response to the emergency, the federal and state governments rapidly created broad protections from tort liability for health care providers. To encourage businesses to reopen, some states have also provided liability protection for businesses from personal injury suits brought by patrons and employees. Congress is considering similar protections for businesses as it contemplates further aid packages. Some industries, like nursing homes and universities, are lobbying for specific immunity. This Essay …

Big Pharma, Big Problems: Covid-19 Heightens Patent-Antitrust Tension Caused By Reverse Payments, Hannah M. Lasting

Seattle University Law Review

In the wake of COVID-19, pharmaceutical companies rushed to produce vaccinations and continue to work on developing treatments, while the tension caused by reverse payments intensifies between patent and antitrust law. Lawmakers must address this tension, and the current pandemic should serve as a catalyst to prompt reform at the legislative level. By amending the Hatch-Waxman Act, lawmakers can ease the increasing strain between patent and antitrust policy concerns. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court attempted to resolve this tension in its landmark decision, F.T.C. v. Actavis, but the tension remains as lower courts struggle to produce a uniform standard …

Put More Women In Charge And Other Leadership Lessons From Covid-19, Peter H. Huang

Publications

COVID-19 teaches us lessons about leadership, the most important of which is to put more women in charge. This Article provides an interdisciplinary analysis of these lessons, which come at the very high price of many forever disrupted and lost human lives. COVID-19 is a global tragedy. COVID-19 can also be a cruel, relentless and unforgiving teacher of valuable lessons about leadership. During COVID-19, leaders had to quickly mobilize many resources and convince many people to change their established behaviors and familiar routines. Leaders had to rely on effective and persuasive communication to achieve buy-in and voluntary compliance by a …

Torts: Covid-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act & Executive Order By The Governor Designating Auxiliary Management Workers And Emergency Management Activities, Angelena Velaj, Troy Viger

Georgia State University Law Review

The Executive Order expanded immunity from liability for volunteer health care workers as emergency management workers performing emergency management activities. The Order was not limited to only COVID-19-related activities. When the legislature reconvened, legislators passed the Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act, which provided liability limitation to businesses against tort claims arising from the pandemic.

Preemption: Executive Order By The Governor To Ensure A Safe & Healthy Georgia, Marisa P. Ahlzadeh, Fanny Chac

Georgia State University Law Review

The doctrine of preemption expresses the idea that “a higher authority of law will displace a lower authority of law when the two authorities come into conflict.” Preemption exists on both the federal and state level. According to the Georgia Constitution, local laws are permissible if they do not conflict with the state law on the subject. During a Public Health State of Emergency, the Governor of Georgia maintains certain expanded powers to take necessary action for the health and safety of the public. On April 2, 2020, Governor Brian Kemp (R) used these expanded powers to enact an Executive …

Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act Of 1996: Health & Public Welfare, Erin L. Hayes, Kathryn A. Vance

Georgia State University Law Review

The Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (“Privacy Rule”) establish a standard for the use and protection of individuals’ health information and apply to certain covered entities or their business associates. Covered entities may only disclose an individual’s protected health information in limited situations. Covered entities or individuals that fail to comply with the Privacy Rule standards may be subject to civil or criminal penalties.

Bioethics: Ethical Considerations Of Ventilator Triage During A Pandemic, Susannah J. Gleason, William J. Keegan

Georgia State University Law Review

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals across the country faced unprecedented volumes of patients seeking treatment related to the respiratory complications of the virus. As a result, states were forced to reassess existing scarce resource allocation guidelines to appropriately accommodate the high demand. This Peach Sheet analyzes the ethical considerations implicated in enacting and following these guidelines when treating patients, specifically in the context of ventilator triage in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Crimes And Offenses: Proposed Constitutional Carry Act Of 2019 & Executive Order By The Governor Temporarily Extending Renewal Requirements For Weapons Carry Licenses, Kristin Harripaul, Briana A. James

Georgia State University Law Review

In March 2020, Governor Brian Kemp (R) issued an Executive Order declaring a Public Health State of Emergency due to COVID-19. The Supreme Court of Georgia also issued a Judicial Order declaring a Statewide Judicial Emergency. The Council of Probate Court Judges subsequently characterized the processing of weapons carry licenses as non-essential and temporarily suspended license issuances to limit the spread of COVID-19. HB 2 would have eliminated the license requirement and the need for probate judges to process applications. However, HB 2 never received a hearing before the 2019–20 legislative session ended. Gun rights advocates called on Governor Kemp …

Elections: Elections And Primaries Through The Pandemic, Joseph M. Brickman, Logan D. Kirkes

Georgia State University Law Review

The 2020 election cycle was all but normal. Due to certain health concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia delayed its primary election three months from March to June and summarily mailed absentee ballot request forms to all active, registered voters. From presidential social media postings to a federal lawsuit, debate ensued over the widespread usage of absentee ballots, their overall effectiveness and security, who would receive request forms, and whether postage requirements qualified as an impermissible poll tax. To further compound these uncertainties, Georgia legislators, who are not permitted to fundraise or campaign during the forty-day legislative session, had …

Mandatory Quarantine: Administrative Order By The Georgia Department Of Public Health For Public Health Control Measures: Isolation Protocol, Matthew C. Daigle, Carissa L. Lavin

Georgia State University Law Review

The Administrative Order for Public Health Control Measures and its subsequent amendments outlined the Isolation and Quarantine Protocols for individuals who either tested positive for COVID-19 or were suspected of COVID-19 infection based on symptoms or prolonged exposure to the virus.

Forced Business Closures: Executive Orders By The Governor Closing Private Businesses, Baylee A. Culverhouse, Alexa R. Martin

Georgia State University Law Review

Governor Brian Kemp (R) issued Executive Orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that required businesses to close in an effort to limit the spread of the virus. Business owners often challenged those forced business closures as unconstitutional or as exceeding the State’s police power, and those challenges were met with varying degrees of success.

Public Health State Of Emergency: Executive Order By The Governor Declaring A Public Health State Of Emergency, Rebecca Hu, Ellen Y. Min

Georgia State University Law Review

The Executive Order primarily functions to enumerate the Governor’s emergency powers during a Public Health State of Emergency. The Executive Order allows for the Governor to assist health and emergency management officials by deploying available resources for the mitigation and treatment of COVID-19 within Georgia.

First Amendment: Executive Order By The Governor Limiting Large Gatherings Statewide, Alex N. Estroff, Boris W. Gautier

Georgia State University Law Review

Beginning in March 2020, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) issued a series of Executive Orders addressing the State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in these Orders was a prohibition on large groups of people gathering in a single location. Though an effective means of curtailing the virus’s rapid transmission, this specific provision became a source of controversy for groups who believed such a prohibition infringed upon their First Amendment rights.

Criminal Law In Crisis, Benjamin Levin

University of Colorado Law Review Forum

In this Essay, I offer a brief account of how the COVID-19 pandemic lays bare the realities and structural flaws of the carceral state. I provide two primary examples or illustrations, but they are not meant to serve as an exhaustive list. Rather, by highlighting these issues, problems, or (perhaps) features, I mean to suggest that this moment of crisis should serve not just as an opportunity to marshal resources to address the pandemic, but also as a chance to address the harsh realities of the U.S. criminal system. Further, my claim isn’t that criminal law is in some way …

State Prosecutors At The Center Of Mass Imprisonment And Criminal Justice Reform, Nora V. Demleitner

Scholarly Articles

State prosecutors around the country have played a crucial role in mass imprisonment. Little supervision and virtually unsurpassed decision making power have provided them with unrivaled influence over the size, growth, and composition of our criminal justice system. They decide which cases to prosecute, whether to divert a case, whether to offer a plea, and what sentence to recommend. Their impact does not stop at sentencing. They weigh in on alternative dockets, supervision violations, parole release, and even clemency requests. But they are also part of a larger system that constrains them. Funding, judicial limits on their power, and legislative …

Narrowly Tailoring The Covid-19 Response, Craig Konnoth

Publications

No abstract provided.