As the coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, spreads across the globe, here in the United States, local, state and the federal government have taken extraordinary measures to stop the spread of the illness. President Trump had initially issued federal guidelines asking people to “shelter at home” until approximately Easter (April 12). This guideline has recently been extended to the end of April. Many states, including Maryland and Virginia, have issued mandatory “stay at home” orders to their citizens. As reported in USA Today, “at least 30 states have such orders in place, although they go by different names – often shelter in place or stay at home – and they have exceptions for essential tasks such as grocery shopping, visiting a doctor and exercising, as well as some jobs deemed critical.”
The Mayor of Washington, DC, Muriel Bowser has threatened criminal penalties for not obeying her “stay at home” orders, including imprisonment up to 90 days, a $5,000 fine, or both. She is not alone – The Governor of Hawaii and the Governor of Virginia (remember Ralph “Blackface” Northam?) have made similar threats.
As is natural in a country dedicated from its inception to freedom, many citizens have complained about these heavy-handed efforts to keep people away from each other. However, it must be remembered that the government has broad powers to protect the health and safety of its citizens. For instance, in the 1915 US Supreme Court case Sligh v. Kirkwood, the Court stated that “the power of the State to . . . prevent the production within its borders of impure foods, unfit for use, and such articles as would spread disease and pestilence, is well established.” As stated by the Legal Information Institute, “there…can be no question of the authority of the state, in the interest of public health and welfare, to forbid the sale of drugs by itinerant vendors…nor is it any longer possible to doubt the validity of state regulations pertaining to the administration, sale, prescription, and use of dangerous and habit-forming drugs.”
In their article, “Public Health Strategy and the Police Powers of the State, authors Galva, Atchison and Levey state “the doctrine of state ‘police power’ was adopted in early colonial America from firmly established English common law principles mandating the limitation of private rights when needed for the preservation of the common good. It was one of the powers reserved by the states with the adoption of the federal Constitution and was limited only by the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause—which mandates preeminence of federal law in matters delegated to the federal government—and the individual rights protected in the subsequent Amendments.” However, “the application of ‘police powers’ is not synonymous with criminal enforcement procedures; rather, this authority establishes the means by which communities may enforce civil self-protection rules. More specifically, public health police power allows the states to pass and enforce isolation and quarantine, health, and inspection laws to interrupt or prevent the spread of disease.”
Therefore, under this reasoning, the criminal penalties sought by the states cited above for violations of “stay at home” orders are unenforceable and illegal.
In our last article on this topic, we quoted Rahm Emmanuel’s famous maxim, paraphrased as “never waste a In the ancient times, when the population was too less, it was convenient for people to gather and talk to each other on a regular basis. cialis tablets 100mg Men get viagra with problem of withstanding an erection and who cannot solve their problem through psycho sexual therapy may opt to use medication method of treatment. The manufacturing pharmaceutical organization of buy cheap levitra have a peek at these guys is Pfizer, this tablet has been researched for its effect on remedy of hypertension, but it ended up being used for treatment of male impotence and later Kamagra replaced it by reducing the cost of the medicine. Take an approach that does not criticize your teen, but emphasizes the measures needed for driving safely. order viagra prescription crisis.” Besides the illegal criminal penalties reviewed above, let us look at some other examples of governmental excess during this particular crisis.
INFRINGEMENT OF THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS
One of the worst examples of the abuse of the State’s police power comes in the form of the closure of gun shops. Several states, including Maine, New Jersey and California, all attempted to close gun stores, claiming they were not “essential services.” In Maine, the order came from the Governor, Janet Mills. In California, the LA County Sheriff, Alex Villanueva issued the shutdown order, and was quickly supported by Governor Gavin Newsom.
All three states have received a “slap down” in one form or another. President Trump recently added firearms manufacturers and sellers as an “essential service” to the advisory list provided by the Department of Homeland Services to the states. New Jersey has been sued for their attempt to halt the sale of firearms in their state, and the National Rifle Association has also brought suit against California for their illegal effort to close gun shops.
This article was provided exclusively to the New York Analysis of Policy and Government by Judge John H. Wilson, (ret.) It Concludes Tomorrow.
Photo: U.S. Supreme Court (Supreme Court)