The Law of Emergencies: Public Health and Disaster Management

The Law of Emergencies: Public Health and Disaster Management, Second Edition, introduces the American legal system as it interacts with disaster management, public health and civil unrest issues. Nan Hunter shows how the law in this area plays out in the context of real life emergencies where individuals often have to make split-second decisions. This book covers the major legal principles underlying emergency policy and operations and analyzes legal authority at the federal, state and local levels, placing the issues in historical context but concentrating on contemporary questions.

The book includes primary texts, reader-friendly expository explanation and sample discussion questions in each chapter, as well as scenarios for each of the three major areas to put the concepts in to action. Prior knowledge of the law is not necessary in order to use and understand this book, and it satisfies the need of professionals in a wide array of fields related to emergency management to understand both what the law requires and how to analyze issues for which there is no clear legal answer.

The book features materials on such critical issues as how to judge the extent of Constitutional authority for government to intervene in the lives and property of American citizens. At the same time, it also captures bread-and-butter issues such as responder liability and disaster relief methods. No other book brings these components together in a logically organized, step by step fashion.

Updated with expanded coverage and several new chaptersRe-organized to improve topic focus, with sections covering The President, Congress, and the Courts; Governance on the Ground; The Rights of Individuals; Disaster Management and Reconstruction; Health Emergencies; Preserving the Social Fabric; and LiabilityIncludes a new disaster scenario (a dirty bomb explosion in Washington, DC) to illustrate the application of key conceptsFeatures two new appendices that provide key excerpts from the U.S. Constitution and the Stafford Act Includes a new glossary of legal and legislative terms

Part I The President, Congress, and the Courts 1. Our Constitutional Structure of Government 2. The Powers of the President in an Emergency 3. The Reach of Congressional Power 4. The Judiciary 5. The Domestic Use of Military Troops

Part II Governance on the Ground 6. Federal Agencies 7. State and Local Governments 8. Response Coordination and Incident Command Systems

Part III The Rights of Individuals 9. The Constitution and Individual Rights 10. Statutory Protections for Individual Rights

Part IV Disaster Management and Reconstruction 11. Stafford Act Assistance to Communities 12. Stafford Act Assistance for Individuals

Part V Health Emergencies 13. Public Health Law I: Complications of Federalism 14. Public Health Law II: Contemporary Threats 15. Hospitals and Workplaces in Health Emergencies

Part VI Preserving the Social Fabric 16. The Law of Search and Seizure 17. Evacuation 18. A Dirty Bomb Explodes in Washington, DC

Part VII Liability 19. Sovereign Immunity and Government Liability 20. Liability Issues for Individuals

Appendix 1 U.S. Constitution (excerpts) Appendix 2 Stafford Act (excerpts) Glossary of Legal and Legislative Terms