Are Stay At Home Orders Constitutional?

Protests have sprung up around the country calling for an end to the stay at home orders affecting most Americans. This has led to an interesting debate. Are stay at home orders constitutional?

Most of the protests center on the idea that it is unconstitutional for the government to force you to stay at home. They claim that the orders are infringing on their life and liberty. Business owners claim it is taking their livelihood away.

Legality

It is important to remember that both states and the federal government can pass any law they please. However, the judicial branch of government has the power to rule any law unconstitutional. Lawsuits have already been launched challenging the orders.

Precedent indicates the lawsuits are not likely to be successful. The constitution does grant the government some emergency powers in times of war or rebellion. In an article covering this very topic on Forbes, Evan Gerstmann points to a court case covering a similar subject:  Jacobson v. Massachusetts.

In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that to ensure the safety of the general public, individual rights may be restrained by reasonable regulation. If this precedent is followed, the arguments would probably center on whether or not the stay at home rules are reasonable.

The courts will have to decide if the stay at home orders have a compelling government interest. In the past, the courts have given the government fairly wide latitude in this regard. Fighting a pandemic is likely to pass the test.

Limitations on Freedom

All too often we forget that although this is a free country, we are not free to do whatever we please. We are not free to murder. We are not free to steal. Freedom is not absolute.

Those are extreme examples, but the limits of our freedom go further than that. One is not free to do whatever drugs they want. Up until recently, gays were not allowed to marry their partners.

Even sacred rights, like the freedom of speech, has its limits. For example, you are not allowed to shout fire in a crowded theater.

These examples show that the government can, and repeatedly has, limited our freedom. Are stay at home orders constitutional? The answer is most likely yes. The courts seem unlikely to change that now, especially during a national emergency. With another outbreak of the virus expected in the fall, stay at home orders may be something everyone has to get used to.