法律英语：109 Quarantine Law

by Michael W. Flynn

First, a disclaimer: Although I am an attorney, the legal information in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalized legal advice from an attorney licensed¹ to practice in your jurisdiction². Further, I do not intend to create an attorney-client relationship with any listener.

Today’s topic is the government’s power to quarantine. In light of Andrew Speaker’s recent quarantine for a resistant³ strain of tuberculosis⁴, several listeners have written asking whether such a quarantine is legal.

The short answer is that the government at the local, state and federal levels does, in fact, have the power to quarantine people who pose a public health risk.

The practice of quarantine began during the 14th century in an effort to protect coastal⁵ cities from plague epidemics⁶. Ships arriving in Venice from infected ports were required to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing. This practice, called quarantine, derived⁷ from the Italian quaranta giorni, which means 40 days.

Today, states and local governments have broad authority under their general police powers to preserve public health. This includes closing restaurants that do not comply with health regulations and quarantining individuals with highly infectious diseases. In some states, such as Louisiana, local officials need a court order to take a person into custody⁸ for all but a few diseases. In others, local health officials are empowered to detain individuals in a hospital or prison who show symptoms of specific diseases such as cholera⁹, yellow fever, typhoid fever, or tuberculosis. State quarantine laws also allow officials to impose limited quarantines. For example, a chef infected with hepatitis might be barred from preparing or serving food in a restaurant, but would remain otherwise free to live his life.

Under the Constitution, the federal government’s powers are generally limited to interstate activity and international activity. Under the Public Health Service Act, “[t]he Surgeon General, with the approval of the Secretary [of Health and Human Services], is authorized¹⁰ to make and enforce such regulations as in his judgment¹¹ are necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries.” This power is limited to controlling those diseases that are “specified from time to time in Executive orders of the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary, in consultation¹² with the Surgeon General.”

Currently, the list of diseases includes cholera, diphtheria, infectious tuberculosis, plague, smallpox¹³, yellow fever, viral hemorrhagic fevers, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), and certain kinds of dangerous influenza¹⁴ that are causing or have the potential to cause a pandemic. So, the federal government has the power to detain a person who has one of these diseases.

In Andrew Speaker’s case, he had a kind of infectious tuberculosis, and he was trying to enter the country from abroad, so the federal government had the right to detain and medically examine him. If Mr. Speaker is found to have violated federal quarantine laws, he could be subject to up to a $1000 fine and a sentence of up to one year in jail. Violating quarantine laws could include ignoring a quarantine order or leaving a hospital after being quarantined, but before treatment was completed. Mr. Speaker might also face tort liability if he infected other people on a flight, and he knew or should have known he had an infectious disease.

The law is less clear on exactly how long the government can detain an individual, and what kind of treatment it can force a person to undergo. However, it seems that the government may do almost anything that is necessary to ensure that the infected person will not pose a health risk to others.

Thank you for listening to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful¹⁵ Life. Be sure to check out all the excellent Quick and Dirty Tips podcasts at QuickAndDirtyTips.com.

You can send questions and comments to.........or call them in to the voice-mail line at 206-202-4LAW. Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.

Legal Lad's theme music is "No Good Layabout" by Kevin MacLeod.

 

1 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

2 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

3 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

4 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

5 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

6 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

7 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

9 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

10 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

12 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

13 smallpox   

n.天花

参考例句：

• In 1742 he suffered a fatal attack of smallpox.1742年，他染上了致命的天花。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child?你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

14 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

15 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。