
Emergency Legal Preparedness and Zika Virus
PrimerEmergency Legal Preparedness and ResponseThis Primer outlines major public health concerns underlying Zika virus and discusses legal preparedness and response issues.
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 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 200 articles in journals of law, medicine, public health and bioethics; 2 books in public health law (including Public Health Law in a Nutshell (3rd ed. 2018); 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 regularly ranked among the top 3% 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.
This Primer outlines major public health concerns underlying Zika virus and discusses legal preparedness and response issues.
Many experts and advocates consider homelessness a critical public health issue. Professor James G. Hodge, Jr., director of the Network's Western Region Office, co-authored the article “Homelessness and the Public’s Health: Legal Responses” in the recently released Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics supplemental issue. In this Q&A, he discusses his article and the role of law and advocacy to ameliorate the public health impact of homelessness.
Liability protections have been put in place at both the state and local levels for different types of actors and entities involved in emergency response efforts. This table highlights those potential liability protections for individuals, including healthcare workers, volunteers and private sector employees, and entities, including government agencies, hospitals or healthcare facilities, non-profit organizations and for-profit organizations.
This table provides state statutory and regulatory authorities for emergency declarations in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
This primer provides an overview of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, and examines emerging emergency legal preparedness issues in the U.S. as federal, state and local health officials consider measures to protect the public’s health in the event of the further spread of the disease.
This resource provides answers to frequently asked questions about legal preparedness and response concerning Ebola, including screening and quarantine measures; federal, state and local powers; as well as legal protections for affected individuals and hospital workers.