Earlier this year, Public Health Law Watch, in collaboration with members of the George Consortium and other partner organizations, hosted a series of legal briefings related to COVID-19 and legal and policy issues associated with the global pandemic. Experts and scholars joined us for bi-weekly livestreamed discussions on these issues. We invite you to read the summaries of selected episodes below! And, enjoy relistening to the series (linked below and archived on our #COVIDLawBriefing webpage).
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5/5/20: Transmission Criminalization
Mod: Leo Beletsky
Speaker: Alexander McClelland
Leo Beletsky hosts a conversation with Professor McClelland discussing the criminalization of transmission of COVID-19 in this #COVIDLawBriefing. The talk began by looking at the history of the criminalization of HIV; it is considered aggravated assault if you don’t disclose that you have it before engaging in sexual activity. In many cases this resulted in people receiving harsh jail times for crimes they either did not do or tried to stop. Despite not being transmittable in many cases, these criminal laws are retributive and impose a moral judgement on people who have contracted HIV. Turning to COVID-19, the policing on transmission has been a contentious issue. Law enforcement is using the fear of COVID-19 as justification to be rough with people who are gathering, but especially towards homeless people. Like many issues, who gets in trouble for violating social distancing guidelines often comes down to race and ethnicity. The police have been especially violent towards BIPOC communities during this crisis while often letting white people violate the same laws. Law enforcement has also not “practiced what they preach[ed]” with many officers not engaging in social distancing or wearing masks and gloves. The police violating these social distancing guidelines puts even more people at risk. The conversation ended on an optimistic note that perhaps this was a time when true change could occur with policing.
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Public Health Law Watch’s COVID Law Briefings are co-sponsored by the Center for Health Policy and Law at Northeastern University School of Law, the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University Beasley School of Law, the Network for Public Health Law, and the APHA Law Section.