Court decisions play a key role in shaping public health authority.

A court-based strategy is an essential companion to all legal and policy efforts to protect, promote, and disseminate exercises of public health authority. Otherwise, even the most sensible and beneficial publichealth policies are at risk from courts that are under-informed or hostile to public health measures.

In May 2024, the Act for Public Health partnership hosted a convening at Northeastern University Schoolof Law to devise an action plan to help the public health law community and its allies build and maintain ajurisprudence that supports the fair, effective, evidence-based exercise of public health authority.

Below are highlights from the action plan that emerged.

For the full report and action plan, contact Senior Legal ProgramManager Linda Tvrdy at l.tvrdy@northeastern.edu.