Court ruling permits state to indefinitely detain citizens for quarantine and isolation – Is due process compromised?

Outrage: Court Ruling Allows State to Seize Citizens for ⁣Indefinite Quarantine and Isolation – Due Process No ​More?

The pandemic might be over, but the plague of ⁢government overreach looks​ more permanent all the time.

That’s the lesson ​out of⁤ a recent⁢ ruling⁢ by a New York state appeals court that effectively upheld the right of⁣ state officials to arbitrarily seize and detain pretty much any person they deem ⁣necessary.

And, of course, it’s ‍in‌ the name ‍of public safety.

In the Nov. 17 ruling, according to the Albany Times Union, the Empire State’s Fourth Judicial Department overruled a lower court ruling that invalidated a state‌ Health Department Rule 2.13 that spelled out the powers of⁢ officials to control the‌ spread of communicable disease.

Last year, the Times Union reported, a New York‌ Supreme Court judge threw out rule⁤ 2.13 on the‍ grounds that it‍ violated due process.

(For the uninitiated,​ a New York “Supreme Court” isn’t “supreme” at all. In the New York‌ judicial system, there are two court levels above it — the ‍ Appellate ‌Division and the​ Court of Appeals.)

In his July 2022 ruling, ‌the Times Union ‍reported at the time, Justice Ronald Ploetz “said the ​law could conceivably grant the⁣ commissioner the​ power to force anyone into isolation ⁤or quarantine, despite a lack of evidence ⁣that a person is infected with⁣ COVID-19.”

“Involuntary detention is a severe deprivation of individual liberty, far ‍more egregious than other health safety measures, such as requiring mask-wearing at certain venues,” Ploetz wrote, according to the ⁢Times Union. “Involuntary quarantine may have​ far-reaching consequences⁣ such as loss of income (or employment) and isolation from family.”

The ⁣regulation⁢ was adopted in February 2022 under⁤ the administration of Gov. Kathy ⁢Hochul — an elected official with such little regard for freedom of speech that she ​has literally told her state’s​ conservatives⁣ they should go live somewhere‌ else.

Her administration, represented by Attorney General Letitia James⁢ (whom most Americans have⁣ heard of by now as⁢ former President Donald Trump’s legal nemesis in ⁢New York), appealed Ploetz’s ruling against the regulation.

In the Nov. 17 decision, the appeals court ruled in the state’s favor — not on the merits of‌ rule 2.13 itself or the objections to it, but on the narrow grounds that⁤ the​ challengers lacked “standing” in the case.

The ‌challengers are three​ Republican lawmakers —  state Sen. George Borrello,‍ Assemblyman Chris Tague and ⁤former Assemblyman, now U.S. Rep. Michael‍ Lawler — and the conservative group Uniting⁣ NYS.

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