The federal government, as well as individual states, can legally impose quarantines on individuals considered a hazard to public health, veteran legal analyst Kendall Coffey says.
"In human terms, it seems so frustrating to think that somebody who is innocent can be treated like a criminal and in fact that person may feel completely healthy," Coffey said Thursday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
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"But when it comes to contagious and serious and dangerous diseases, the federal government, the state governments, and the local government within the Constitution can exercise a lot of power.
"There are pretty well-settled cases going back to the Supreme Court, involving everything from small pox to tuberculosis, that say if it's got a real basis for concern and if it is one of those highly contagious, deadly diseases, yeah, they can quarantine."
Coffey, a founding member of Coffey Burlington PL in Miami, delivered the analysis as Maine Gov. Paul LePage vowed to "exercise the full extent of his authority" to keep a nurse recently treated Ebola patients away from public places.
The nurse, Kaci Hickox, insists she is healthy and free of any Ebola symptoms and was out riding her bike Thursday.
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