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.
Key Features
- Updated with expanded coverage and several new chapters
- Re-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 Liability
- Includes a new disaster scenario (a dirty bomb explosion in Washington, DC) to illustrate the application of key concepts
- Features 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 Courts1. Our Constitutional Structure of Government2. The Powers of the President in an Emergency3. The Reach of Congressional Power4. The Judiciary5. The Domestic Use of Military Troops
Part II Governance on the Ground6. Federal Agencies7. State and Local Governments8. Response Coordination and Incident Command Systems
Part III The Rights of Individuals9. The Constitution and Individual Rights10. Statutory Protections for Individual Rights
Part IV Disaster Management and Reconstruction11. Stafford Act Assistance to Communities12. Stafford Act Assistance for Individuals
Part V Health Emergencies13. Public Health Law I: Complications of Federalism14. Public Health Law II: Contemporary Threats15. Hospitals and Workplaces in Health Emergencies
Part VI Preserving the Social Fabric16. The Law of Search and Seizure17. Evacuation18. A Dirty Bomb Explodes in Washington, DC
Part VII Liability19. Sovereign Immunity and Government Liability20. Liability Issues for Individuals
Appendix 1 U.S. Constitution (excerpts)Appendix 2 Stafford Act (excerpts)Glossary of Legal and Legislative Terms
- Ryan, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism, Butterworth-Heinemann, Mar 2008, 9780750684897, 352pp, $78.95
- Bullock, Introduction to Emergency Management, Jun 2017, Butterworth-Heinemann, 9780128030646, 440pp
- Haddow, Homeland Security: The Essentials, Butterworth-Heinemann, Feb 2017, 9780128044650, 384pp, $99.95
Graduate and undergraduate students studying the major legal principles underlying emergency management and homeland security policy and operations, as well as professionals in Emergency Management and national security, and private-sector risk managers
