In this little explainer, influenced by the current pandemic state of affairs, I decided to explore the law around the “federal quarantine powers,” as people like to call them.
Sources (law reviews don’t use drawings so these drawings aren’t using Bluebook format…keeping things fair over here):
Constitution: Commerce Clause, Article 1, Section 9 of U.S. Constitution
Federal Law: Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act, aka 42 USC 264.
Federal Regulations:
42 CFR 70.1-70.18 (Interstate Quarantine)
42 CFR 71.1-71.63 (Foreign Quarantine)
Secondary sources:
“Legal Authorities for Isolation and Quarantine” on CDC website.
And, if you’re curious about some fascinating history of yellow fever shotgun quarantines in the late 1800s American South, check out “Epidemics, Outsiders, and Local Protection: Federalism Theater in the era of the Shotgun Quarantine” by Polly J. Price. If you’re not into legal analysis, just read the beginning.