Report by Act for Public Health Partnership Calls for Court-Centered Strategy for Protecting Public Health

Report by Act for Public Health Partnership Calls for Court-Centered Strategy for Protecting Public Health

01.15.25— The judiciary plays a vital role in deciding whether and how public health can act to safeguard the public’s health and promote health equity. In recent years, many courts have discarded the deference that they have traditionally afforded health agencies. To ensure that health agencies can continue to protect the public’s health and reduce health inequities while also respecting the rights and liberties of all Americans, public health advocates must implement a new court-based strategy, according to a report issued today by the Act for Public Health Partnership — a diverse group of public health professionals. In “A Plan for Action: Protecting Public Health in the Courts,” the partnership calls for a variety of action steps, including research, education, coordination with allies and an increased focus by public health on the nomination and election of judges. The report outlines specific short-term, medium-term and long-term recommendations for the public health law community and its allies.

“The public health law community must work together in this time of legal instability to enable the formulation of a new jurisprudence that offers a sensible measure of deference to public health officials and heeds the scientific and technical evidence upon which public health decisions are based,” said Professor Wendy E. Parmet, an internationally recognized expert on public health who serves as faculty director of Northeastern Law’s Center for Public Health Policy and Law. The center hosted the partnership’s May 2024 convening, which resulted in this report.

The Act for Public Health Partnership includes Temple University’s Center for Public Health Law Research, ChangeLab Solutions, the Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Public Health Law Watch at Northeastern University School of Law’s Center for Health Policy and Law, and The Network for Public Health Law.

Support for this report was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

For more information, contact Senior Legal Program Manager for Public Health Law Watch Linda Tvrdy at l.tvrdy@northeastern.edu.

About Northeastern University School of Law

The nation’s leader in experiential legal education since 1968, Northeastern University School of Law offers the longest-running, most extensive experience-based legal education program in the country. Northeastern guarantees its students unparalleled practical legal work experiences through its signature Cooperative Legal Education Program. More than 1,100 employers in a wide range of legal, government, nonprofit and business organizations participate in the program. With a focus on social justice and innovation, Northeastern University School of Law blends theory and practice, providing students with a unique set of skills and experiences to successfully practice law.

For more information, contact d.feldman@northeastern.edu.