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Legally, does the state and federal goverment have the power to control the movement of people? Does the state have the power to control my movement from my ow

Legally, does the state and federal goverment have the power to control the movement of people? Does the state have the power to control my movement from my own home to the end of the street for my daily walk?

altcognito 7y ago
The answer to this question is always yes regardless of the government in dire circumstances. That's why there are some of these laws on the books for quarantine in the first place from 1918. That being said, it's a big scary step and there are lots of little steps likely to be taken before we get that far. You can see this in action in Italy.
philwelch 7y ago
Yes, this is a long-recognized aspect of the states’ police power.
nathanaldensr 7y ago
Of course they have the power: they have the guns. That's not the real question; the real questions are 1) whether the populace will tolerate it, and how much; 2) whether the state's forces will willingly open fire on intolerant citizens; 3) whether the state chooses to use the power, whether legal or not.
- draw_down 7y ago
  The first word in the post you're responding to is "legally". Obviously the state has guns. Come on!!
- bananabreakfast 7y ago
  You mean like they did at Kent State?
pgrote 7y ago
>Legally, does the state and federal goverment have the power to control the movement of people? Yes and no. I was curious, too. https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/17/mass-quarantine-lockdown-explainer/ https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/17/mass-quarantine-lockdown...
gdubs 7y ago
Wouldn't this fall under 'martial law'? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law_in_the_United_Stat... "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." I guess the legal argument comes down to a lack of a comma between 'invasion' and 'the public safety'. Or whether a virus constitutes 'invasion'.
- klodolph 7y ago
  Habeas corpus isn’t the issue here. It’s 1st / 5th / 14th amendment issues: - 1st: Right to peacefully assemble - 14th “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” 5th has similar text to 14th. To be clear: I’m not arguing that the various govts. can’t impose quarantines or isolation orders, I’m just outlining which parts of the constitution are relevant to the legal questions.
  - gdubs 7y ago
    Thanks. And same – I'm not advocating one way or the other, simply wanting to understand the constitutionality.
nsm 7y ago
This is a good recent summary for non-lawyers https://thedispatch.com/p/the-police-power-of-the-states-to https://thedispatch.com/p/the-police-power-of-the-states-to
mellavora 7y ago
It is called quarantine, and yes they do, under certain circumstances.

altcognito 7y ago

The answer to this question is always yes regardless of the government in dire circumstances. That's why there are some of these laws on the books for quarantine in the first place from 1918. That being said, it's a big scary step and there are lots of little steps likely to be taken before we get that far. You can see this in action in Italy.

philwelch 7y ago

Yes, this is a long-recognized aspect of the states’ police power.

nathanaldensr 7y ago

Of course they have the power: they have the guns. That's not the real question; the real questions are 1) whether the populace will tolerate it, and how much; 2) whether the state's forces will willingly open fire on intolerant citizens; 3) whether the state chooses to use the power, whether legal or not.

draw_down 7y ago
The first word in the post you're responding to is "legally". Obviously the state has guns. Come on!!
bananabreakfast 7y ago
You mean like they did at Kent State?

pgrote 7y ago

>Legally, does the state and federal goverment have the power to control the movement of people? Yes and no. I was curious, too. https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/17/mass-quarantine-lockdown-explainer/ https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/17/mass-quarantine-lockdown...

gdubs 7y ago

Wouldn't this fall under 'martial law'? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law_in_the_United_Stat... "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." I guess the legal argument comes down to a lack of a comma between 'invasion' and 'the public safety'. Or whether a virus constitutes 'invasion'.

klodolph 7y ago
Habeas corpus isn’t the issue here. It’s 1st / 5th / 14th amendment issues: - 1st: Right to peacefully assemble - 14th “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” 5th has similar text to 14th. To be clear: I’m not arguing that the various govts. can’t impose quarantines or isolation orders, I’m just outlining which parts of the constitution are relevant to the legal questions.
- gdubs 7y ago
  Thanks. And same – I'm not advocating one way or the other, simply wanting to understand the constitutionality.

nsm 7y ago

This is a good recent summary for non-lawyers https://thedispatch.com/p/the-police-power-of-the-states-to https://thedispatch.com/p/the-police-power-of-the-states-to

mellavora 7y ago

It is called quarantine, and yes they do, under certain circumstances.