James G. Hodge, Jr., J.D., LL.M., is the director of the Network’s Western Region Office. He is the Peter Kiewit Foundation Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Center for Public Health Law and Policy, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University. Through scholarship, teaching, and projects, Professor Hodge delves into multiple areas of health law, public health law, global health law, ethics, and human rights. He has published more than 275 articles in journals of law, medicine, public health and bioethics; 2 books in public health law (including Public Health Law in a Nutshell (4th ed. 2021); 25 book chapters; dozens of reports; and guest edited 4 symposium issues.

He is listed among the Top 20 Most-Cited Health Law Scholars in Web of Science (2013-2017) and is ranked among the top 1% of all downloaded authors in the Social Science Research Network (SSRN). The recipient of the 2006 Henrik L. Blum Award for Excellence in Health Policy from the American Public Health Association, Professor Hodge has drafted (with others) several public health law reform initiatives including the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act. His diverse, funded projects include work on (1) emergency legal preparedness; (2) health impact assessments; (3) health information privacy; and (4) vaccination laws and policies. His work on these and other topics has been cited in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, US News & World Report, Time, Newsweek, Forbes, Atlantic, NBC News, CNN, Politico, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bloomberg News, among others, as well as journals including Science, JAMA, NEJM, and AJPH. During the COVID-19 pandemic alone, Professor Hodge was cited or quoted in over 600 print and online media sources.

Articles & Resources

Judicial Trends in Public Health 2020: Year in Review

WebinarsJudicial Trends in Public Health

January 19, 2021
by Brooke Torton, James G. Hodge, Jr., Jennifer Piatt, Kathleen Hoke, Kerri McGowan Lowrey, Leila Barraza, Mathew Swinburne and Sarah Wetter

Join Network attorneys as they highlight their top choices for pivotal, influential judicial decisions over the past year on topics including emergency legal preparedness, religious freedoms, reproductive rights, food insecurity, health justice, and the future of the ACA.

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Election 2020: Public Health Legal Reforms and Projections

WebinarsCivic Engagement and VotingCOVID-19COVID-19 and Health EquityMechanisms for Advancing Public Health

November 16, 2020
by James G. Hodge, Jr., Jennifer Piatt, Leila Barraza and Sarah Somers

Join the Network for an engaging real-time assessment and discussion of potential and projected legal and policy changes ahead on these and other core public health topics. Share your potential questions in advance during registration or during the live session.

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COVID-19: Navigating Public Health Emergency Legal Responses Underlying Re-opening State/Local Economies

WebinarsCOVID-19Emergency Legal Preparedness and ResponseEmergency Response

May 28, 2020
by James G. Hodge, Jr. and Sarah Wetter

This webinar focused on emerging constitutional and other legal and policy challenges to state and local efforts to re-open their economies despite concerns of public health officials and health care practitioners over the potential for significant impacts on communal health.

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