Quarantine: Legal Reform for 21st Century Crises

Abstract

Legal authority for quarantine predates the American Revolution, and was implicitly authorized by the Constitution. State and federal quarantine law remained static during the latter half of the 20th century despite expansive interpretations of procedural due process rights. After the events of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent anthrax murders, lawmakers and academics began developing new laws and regulations to address threats such as bioterrorism and pandemic disease. The sweeping powers of these new laws and regulations faced harsh criticism from civil libertarians. This paper discusses legal authority for quarantine up through the early 20th century, the 20th century Supreme Court jurisprudence limiting future quarantine powers, the post-9/11 attempts to reform state and federal quarantine law, and the criticism those attempts have faced.