The Network for Public Health Law monitors key court cases and relevant judicial trends in public health. The Network’s monthly reporter, Judicial Trends in Public Health (JTPH), highlights select, recently-published cases in public health law and policy from the prior 3 months. Case abstracts are organized within 11 key topics (adapted from James G. Hodge, Jr., Public Health Law in a Nutshell, 4th ed. (2021)), including hyperlinks to the full decisions (where available). Contact the Network for more information, questions, or comments.

West Virginia, et al. v. EPA, et al. (U.S. Supreme Court, June 30, 2022): In response to a challenge brought by members of the coal industry and several states, led by West Virginia, the Supreme Court struck down an Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule allowing states to adopt regulations promoting a transition to clean energy sources, concluding that the rule exceeded EPA’s statutory authority. Read the abstract here.

American Hospital Association, et al. v. Becerra (U.S. Supreme Court, June 15, 2022): In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court invalidated the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recent cuts in payments for prescriptions to hospitals serving communities with low incomes (340B hospitals). Read the abstract here.

Anthony Petro, et al. v. Matthew J. Platkin (Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, June 10, 2022): A state appellate court upheld the dismissal of a case challenging a New Jersey law allowing terminally ill patients to choose to end their lives with the assistance of medication and their physicians. Read the abstract here.

SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, et al. v. Governor of the State of Georgia, et al. (U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Cir., July 20, 2022): Following the recent Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which removed the federal constitutional protection of abortion, the 11th Circuit reinstated a previously invalidated Georgia law banning most abortions after detection of a heartbeat. Read the abstract here.

John D. Carson v. Monsanto Company (U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Cir., July 12, 2022): The court found that a state “failure to warn” claim against Monsanto for chemicals in its Roundup weedkiller was not preempted by federal regulation of Roundup under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) or the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) actions implementing FIFRA. Read the abstract here.

TOPICS: These and other cases are organized on the Network website under the topics below (adapted from chapter titles in Public Health Law in a Nutshell (4th Edition) by James G. Hodge, Jr., Director, Network for Public Health Law—Western Region). Select a topic below to view all cases under that topic.

1.  Source & Scope of Public Health Legal Powers
2.  Constitutional Rights & the Public’s Health
3.  Preventing & Treating Communicable Conditions
4.  Social Distancing Measures
5.  Addressing Chronic Conditions
6.  Mitigating the Incidence & Severity of Injuries & Other Harms
7.  Public Health Information Management, Privacy & Security
8.  Regulating Communications
9.  Monitoring Property & the Built Environment
10. Public Health Emergency: Legal Preparedness & Response

11. COVID-19 Pandemic: Public Health Emergency Law & Policy Responses

JTPH is a collaboration of the Network’s Western and Eastern Region Offices led by Editor-in Chief, Jennifer Piatt, JD, Deputy Director, Western Region Office. Additional Western Region contributors include James G. Hodge, Jr., JD, LLM, Erica N. White, JD, and Madisyn Puchebner. Eastern Region contributors include Kathi Hoke, JD, Morgan Jones-Axtell, JD, and Brianne Schell, JD, MA.

Legal information or guidance provided in this transmission or website does not constitute legal advice or representation. For legal advice, please consult specific legal counsel in your state.