A Review of Due Process of Law Protections in Isolation and Quarantine

Isolation and quarantine are age-old public health tools which involve restrictions of personal liberties. Procedural and substantive due process of law protections should be included and provided for in any restriction of personal liberties. The state public health authority using isolation and quarantine powers granted by the Connecticut Statutes is the most likely official agency to be involved in isolation or quarantine activities. This thesis examines due process of law protections in some current and selected isolation and quarantine state and federal legislation in the United States, and then isolation and quarantine provisions in Connecticut legislation is examined for due process protections, and then compared and contrasted with due process protections in the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act and the Turning Point Model State Public Health Act.