November 2024 | The Public Health Law News

Disclaimer

Announcements

Registration Open & Call for Abstracts | 2025 Public Health Law Conference
Registration is open for the 2025 Public Health Law Conference, in Seattle, Washington from September 16-18, 2025. The conference consists of 40 sessions addressing key public health issues such as health and racial equity, advocacy and community engagement, public health authority and systems, harm reduction, and emerging issues. Authors are invited to submit abstracts for individual presentations, panel presentations, ignite sessions, or poster sessions. The submission period for abstracts will close on November 27, 2024.

Registration Open | 2025 NACCHO360
The 2025 NACCHO360 Conference will be hosted in Anaheim, California from July 14-18, 2025. NACCHO360 convenes local health department leaders and public health professionals, offering the opportunity to learn, network, and share experiences and best practices across local health departments. Fall special registration ends November 29^th, with early bird registration open until March 28^th, 2025. This year's theme is "Bright Lights, Bold Ideas: Shaping the Future of Public Health Practice".

Tribal Announcements

Save the Date | 2025 Indian Law Conference
The Indian Law Section of the Federal Bar Association has announced dates for the 2025 Indian Law Conference, held in Albuquerque, NM from April 28-29, 2025. This conference convenes tribal leaders, policymakers, and legal experts to discuss advocacy-strengthening techniques and the advancement of Indian law and policy. Registration will open in December.

Job Announcements

Job Opportunity | Senior Managing Director of Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative
The University of Arkansas's School of Law is seeking applicants for the position of Senior Managing Director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IFAI). This position collaborates closely with the IFAI Executive Director and the executive leadership team, acting as an advisor and co-strategist in developing IFAI's national initiatives. Key responsibilities include daily administration of IFAI, managing project delivery, supervising staff, serving as co-principal investigator on grant projects, and assisting the Executive Director in securing funding. The Senior Managing Director may represent IFAI at external meetings and support research, writing, and outreach efforts to empower tribal governments and native food businesses. This role involves frequent travel and requires reliable attendance and strong interpersonal skills.

Job Opportunity | NACCHO Director of Health Equity and Social Justice
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) is seeking candidates for the position of Director of the Health Equity and Social Justice unit. This supervisory position is accountable for the day-to-day operations of the unit, providing expertise, strategic direction, and programmatic and partnership development with local health departments in health equity and social justice capacity building.

Fellowship Opportunity | Graduate Teaching Fellowship
Georgetown Law's Domestic Violence Clinic seeks one clinical teaching fellow/supervising attorney for a two-year fellowship position. In this full-time position, the graduate teaching fellow will receive training on developing litigation, teaching and legal scholarship skills. As a clinical teacher, the role of a domestic violence clinic fellow is to support students in building strong attorney-client relationships, litigation practice, legal ethics, problem-solving, storytelling, and tailoring solutions within the existing legal system. The fellow will design clinic seminar classes on topics such as child custody, professional ethics, individual and social dynamics of intimate partner violence, and by developing classroom discussions and exercises.

Legal Tools

Resource | ASTHO Public Health Toolkit
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) Public Health Toolkit is a guide that offers support to governmental public health officials and ASTHO alumni. This toolkit includes information about the state and territorial public health's legal responsibility and authority in an acute or declared public health emergency includes evidence-based resources, examples of legislative testimony, and other resources.

Top Story

National: Syphilis outbreak should be treated as public health emergency, tribes say
KFF Health News (11/12/2024) Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez

Story Highlights:
Native American communities in the Great Plains face a significant public health crisis as syphilis rates have surged across the region. According to the South Dakota Department of Health, 649 syphilis cases were reported in 2024, with Native Americans—who make up only 9% of the state's population—accounting for 546 of these cases.

Syphilis rates among Native Americans in the region, spanning Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, rose by 1,865% between 2020 and 2022, a rate significantly higher than the national increase. Alarmingly, one in 40 Native American infants born in the region in 2022 had a syphilis infection, posing severe health risks.

The Great Plains Tribal Leaders' Health Board has urgently requested that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declare this outbreak a public health emergency, seeking increased access to essential resources like public health personnel, funding, and medical supplies. HHS has formed a task force and hosted response workshops, tribal leaders emphasize that more federal support is essential. Dr. Natalie Holt, chief medical officer for the Great Plains Area Indian Health Service, reported a recent decline in cases, from 93 in January to 31 in October, as Indian Health Service facilities conduct over 1,300 syphilis tests monthly. Tribal health leaders remain committed to combating the outbreak but continue to advocate for the resources needed to effectively address it.

[Editor's note: About Congenital Syphilis]

Briefly Noted

National: Kroger agrees to pay up to $1.4 billion to settle opioid lawsuits
WJLA (11/4/2024) Geof Mulvihill
[Editor's note: Understanding the Opioid Overdose Epidemic]

National: The FDA's $76M Vape Seizure: A Victory That Could Turn Into a Hazard
Public Health Law Center (11/1/2024) Willow Najjar Anderson
[Editor's note: Learn more about E-Cigarettes]

Alaska: Alaska Natives vote for major overhaul of subsistence laws
Indian Country Today (11/4/2024) Joaqlin Estus
[Editor's note: Learn more about American Indian and Alaska Native Hunting and Fishing Rights]

Idaho: An Idaho health department isn't allowed to give COVID vaccines anymore. Experts say it's a first
Associated Press (11/1/2024) Devi Shastri
[Editor's note: Learn more about COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence]

Kansas: Facing pressure from local businesses, Kansas City puts brakes on flavored tobacco ban
THE STAR (10/31/2024) PJ Green
[Editor's note: Learn more about Smoking and Tobacco Use]

Louisiana: Louisiana sued over law classifying abortion pills as controlled substance
Reuters (10/31/2024) Brendan Pierson
[Editor's note: Learn more about Abortion Surveillance- United States, 2019]

New Jersey: Gov. Murphy signs bill allowing loans to ailing public health benefit fund
New Jersey Monitor (11/31/2024) Nikita Biryukov
[Editor's note: Learn more about Health Insurance Coverage]

North Carolina: Doctor's lawsuit tests constitutionality of how NC regulates health care facilities
NC Health News (10/23/2024) Anne Blythe
[Editor's note: Learn more about Health Care Access]

Pennsylvania: Lawmakers pushed a slate of bills to improve maternal health care in Pa. Why some did and didn't become law
Spotlight PA (10/29/2024) Stephen Caruso
[Editor's note: Maternal and Infant Health: An Overview]

Texas: Texas order requiring hospitals to ask for citizenship status goes into effect Friday
NBCDFW (11/01/2024) Alanna Quillen
[Editor's note: Learn more about Health Equity]

Texas: Texas' 90,000 DACA recipients can now sign up for Affordable Care Act coverage
KPAX (11/13/2024) Jamal Andress
[Editor's note: Learn more about Health insurance coverage – Health, United States]

Ohio: Tanisha's Law aims to advance Cleveland's response to mental health crises 10 years after woman's death in police custody
Signal Cleveland (11/8/2024) Frank Lewis
[Editor's note: Learn more about Mental Health]

Global Public Health Law News

Africa: Include Girls' Voices in Making of Maternal Health Laws
Human Rights Watch (10/21/2024) Betty Kabari
[Editor's note: Learn more about Maternal and Infant Health: An Overview]

Brazil: Brazilian state law overturns soy moratorium that helped curb Amazon deforestation
Associated Press (11/01/2024) Fabiano Maisonnave
[Editor's note: Environmental Health Law ]

South Africa: New smoking laws for South Africa get blowback
Business Tech (11/05/2024)
[Editor's note: Learn more about Smoking and Tobacco Use]

Vietnam: Ministry proposes adding dengue vaccine in expanded immunisation programme
VietnamPlus (11/13/2024)
[Editor's note: About Dengue]

Court Filings and Opinions

Alaska:
The Alaska Supreme Court has upheld a lower court's ruling that the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) did not violate constitutional sustained yield principles in its management of wolf harvesting on Prince of Wales Island.

Environmental advocates challenged ADF&G's decision to open the 2020-2021 wolf harvest season, arguing it violated the Alaska Constitution's sustained yield principle following a record harvest the previous season. While the advocates attempted to challenge the Board of Game's 2019 adoption of a new wolf management plan (Proposal 43), the court determined these arguments were not properly raised in the original complaint and could not be considered. The court found that ADF&G had demonstrated "a carefully developed and adaptable management scheme" and took a "hard look" at various factors affecting the wolf population when making harvest decisions. The court concluded that the department's management practices were consistent with constitutional requirements for sustainable wildlife management, and affirmed the lower court’s decision.

Bennett v. State of Alaska, Department of Fish & Game
Supreme Court of Alaska
No. S-18496, No. 2051
Decided October 23, 2024
Opinion by Court En Banc

California:
The Lake County Superior ruled that the final environment impact report (“FEIR”) did not comply with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), however, rejected Petitioners’ other challenges.

A California appellate court has ordered the county to revise and recirculate the FEIR for a luxury resort proposed by Lotusland Investment Holdings, Inc. (“Lotusland”). The project was initially approved despite significant concerns raised by the public, petitioners, and the state Attorney General about the FEIR's adequacy in addressing wildfire risks. The trial court found that the FEIR failed to sufficiently assess the project’s potential impact on emergency evacuation routes and wildfire ignition risks, ruling that this lack of analysis violated CEQA standards for substantial evidence. However, the trial court upheld the FEIR’s inclusion of a carbon credit program to offset greenhouse gas emissions, finding it compliant with CEQA.

On appeal, the court agreed with the trial court that the FEIR’s wildfire analysis was insufficient but supported its finding on the carbon credit program. The appellate court ruled that the county must revise the FEIR to thoroughly evaluate the project’s potential to exacerbate wildfire risks and its impact on emergency evacuation routes. This revision must ensure that the public and decision-makers receive meaningful information to assess the project's safety and environmental impact adequately. The case was remanded to the trial court with instructions to monitor the county’s compliance with CEQA, underscoring the importance of a complete environmental review before project approval.

People of State of California v. County of Lake et al.
Court of Appeals of California, First District, Division Four
No. A165677
Decided October 23, 2024
Opinion by Judge Christopher C. Hite

Ohio:
The Tenth District upheld the final judgement from the Franklin Court of Common Pleas (“the lower court”) and overruled the JG Ohio LLC’s (“JG”) four assignments of error appealed by the applicant upon denial for a provisional processor license of medical marijuana.

The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program requires applicants for a provisional processor license to meet minimum scores across various criteria, including security and quality assurance plans. JG's application was initially denied due to a low security plan score. Following a hearing, the Department of Commerce (“the Department”) upheld its decision, quashing JG’s subpoenas for testimony from scoring team members and winning applicants. The hearing officer found no basis for altering JG’s scores, leading to a final denial of the license.

JG appealed, asserting that the Department wrongly withheld points and that the scoring process lacked transparency. The lower court upheld the Department’s decision, stating that JG bore the responsibility to demonstrate compliance and could not shift this burden by claiming procedural flaws. The court also affirmed the denial of access to the winning applications, finding no demonstrated need for this information. Ultimately, JG’s claims of error were overruled, affirming the lower court’s judgment.

JG Ohio LLC v. State of Ohio, Department of Commerce
Court of Appeals of Ohio, Tenth District, Franklin County
No. 23AP-435
Decided October 22,2024
Opinion by Judge Julia Dorrian

Pennsylvania:
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has denied an inmate's request for a protective order that would have required the Department of Corrections (“DOC”) to bypass its third-party mail processing system when sending him legal documents containing medical information.

The plaintiff, an inmate at the State Correctional Institution-Benner, argued that sending his medical records through Smart Communications, the DOC's contracted mail processor, would violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). The court rejected this argument, noting that the Third Circuit has previously held that the DOC's use of a third-party mail system does not violate HIPAA. The court found the plaintiff failed to demonstrate "good cause" required for a protective order, pointing out that Smart Communications, a private company that provides specialized mail processing services for correctional facilities, securely maintains and destroys correspondence after 45 days, and inmates can directly access their medical records by submitting a form to the DOC. The court distinguished between privileged mail (which can be sent directly to inmates) and non-privileged mail (which must go through Smart Communications), maintaining that correspondence from a defendant's attorney is non-privileged.

Bicking v. Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
Civil Action No. 3:24-CV-00422
Decided October 1, 2024
Opinion by District Judge Karoline Mehalchick

Federal:
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania has ruled that a consent decree from a different lawsuit does not strip the court of jurisdiction over a new Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) website accessibility case brought by a different plaintiff.

The plaintiff, who is legally blind, sued Wayfair, a large online retail company specializing in furniture and home décor sales, alleging its website was not accessible via screen reader software in violation of the ADA. Wayfair moved to dismiss, arguing that a consent decree from a similar case in New York (Cromitie v. Wayfair) deprived the court of jurisdiction. The court rejected Wayfair's argument, explaining that the previous settlement agreement from another case did not eliminate the need to hear the current lawsuit because: 1) there was no evidence Wayfair had successfully made its website accessible, 2) the plaintiff in this case was not involved in the previous lawsuit and therefore had no power to enforce that settlement agreement, and 3) the relief sought in this case was different, mentioning that requirements for annual reports specific to this plaintiff. The court followed the reasoning of a similar case from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that just because a company agreed to fix a problem in one lawsuit doesn't mean it can block other affected people from filing their own lawsuits seeking similar but separate relief.

Douglass v. Ariat International, Inc.; Douglass v. Wayfair, LLC
United States District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
Nos. 24cv0833, 24cv0924
Decided October 16, 2024
Opinion by District Judge Arthur J. Schwab

Federal:
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s conviction and sentence of Dr. David Jankowski (“Jankowski”) for unlawful distribution of controlled substances, health care fraud, and conspiracy to commit the two offenses.

Jankowski was a licensed physician specializing in pain management. He possessed a DEA license allowing him to prescribe and dispense controlled substances, which he did primarily through a medical clinic equipped with an in-house pharmacy stocked with narcotics and other Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances. An FBI investigation revealed illegal billing and prescription practices in Janowski’s operation, including Janowski’s fraudulent billing of Medicare for services he did not perform, his prescribing of controlled substances to patients whose conditions did not call for such drugs, and his preparation of pre-signed controlled substance prescriptions for use by his unlicensed employees in his absence. Janowski’s improper and unlawful practices facilitated the illegal trafficking and distribution of controlled substances by patients re-selling these drugs. Based on the results of the FBI investigation, a grand jury indicted Jankowski on 46 counts, of which 32 counts proceeded to trial where a jury convicted Jankowski of 30 out of 32 counts. Following the jury verdict, the district court imposed forfeiture in the amount of $35 million and sentenced Jankowski to 240 months' imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

Although Jankowski raised many issues on appeal, the court reviewed his challenges and rejected his claims, finding in each instance that no error by the district court had occurred, and affirmed Jankowski's conviction and sentence.

United States v. Jankowski
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Decided October 23, 2024
Case No. 23-1404
Opinion by Circuit Judge Chad A. Readler

Federal:
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s decision regarding Denys Korotkiy’s (“Korotkiy”) criminal conviction for violation of maritime vessel regulations pertaining to bilge-water operations and illegal dumping while in U.S. territorial waters. The court found that the regulation's plain language proscribes Korotkiy's conduct as the ship’s chief engineer and the requirements for maintenance of the ship’s Oil Record Book.

While out at sea, ships collect “oily bilge water” in their bottoms which causes oceanic pollution when dumped at sea. U.S. federal law requires ships to either (1) filter its oily bilge water before dumping it in the sea, or (2) contain the oily bilge water and discharge it at a designated reception facility once the ship arrives at port. These laws also require ships to document and maintain records of their bilge-water “operations” in an “Oil Record Book.”

Korotkiy was chief engineer of a cargo ship travelling from South Korea to San Diego, California. Prior to arrival at their destination, Korotkiy ordered the crew to bypass the ship’s pollution-abatement equipment and storage tanks and dump the oily-bilge water directly into the ocean. A whistleblower amongst the crew reported this to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and also informed the ship’s captain that the USCG had been notified. This prompted actions by Korotkiy and the captain to conceal the unlawful dumping by altering and falsifying entries in the Oil Record Book. Upon arrival in San Diego, the USCG boarded, inspected the ship and its Oil Record Book, and detained the vessel and its crew. The United States brought charges against Korotkiy and at trial he was convicted for failing to maintain an accurate Oil Record Book while in U.S. waters.

On appeal, Korotkiy challenged what it means to be “responsible for the maintenance of [the] record” in an Oil Record Book. Korotkiy argued the law’s “maintenance” requirement imposes a duty to “preserve” or “keep” the Oil Record Book in good condition and onboard the ship, but does not impose any obligation to maintain substantively “accurate” records – the court disagreed. Based on their plain language interpretation of the law, the statutory framework and the legislative intent, and acting in agreement with its sister circuits, the court held that the law does impose a duty to ensure that the record in the ship’s Oil Record Book is accurate, or at least not knowingly inaccurate, and affirmed the district court’s decision.

United States v. Korotkiy
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Decided October 10, 2024
Case No. 23-2443
Opinion by Circuit Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr.

COVID-19 Opinions

Illinois:
In this appeal, the Kane County circuit court certified the following question for interlocutory appeal pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 308 (eff. Oct. 1, 2019): "Does Executive Order 2020-19 provide blanket immunity for ordinary negligence to healthcare facilities that rendered assistance to the State during the COVID-19 pandemic?"

The appellate court considered the certified question and determined "the certified question incorrectly describe[d] the scope of the immunity at issue as well as its source." 2023 IL App (2d) 220180, ¶ 15. The court modified the certified question as follows:

"`Does Executive Order No. 2020-19, which triggered the immunity provided in 20 ILCS 3305/21(c) [(West 2020)], grant immunity for ordinary negligence claims to healthcare facilities that rendered assistance to the State during the COVID-19 pandemic?'" Id. ¶ 21.

The court answered the modified question in the affirmative. Id. This court allowed plaintiffs' petition for leave to appeal. Ill. S. Ct. R. 315(a) (eff. Oct. 1, 2021). For the following reasons, we answer the certified question, as modified, in the affirmative, affirm the judgment of the appellate court, and remand the cause to the circuit court for further proceedings.

James v. Geneva Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, LLC
Supreme Court of Illinois
Case No. 130042
Decided October 18, 2024
Opinion by Justice Lisa Holder White

Federal:
Laurie DeVore retired from her post at the University of Kentucky rather than comply with its COVID-19 test-or-vaccinate policy. She then filed this lawsuit, alleging that the Policy conflicted with her sincerely held religious beliefs and that the University's failure to accommodate those beliefs violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The district court granted summary judgment for the University. We AFFIRM.

DeVore v. University of Kentucky Board of Trustees
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Decided October 11, 2024
Case No. 23-5890
Opinion by Circuit Judge Jane B. Stranch

Quote of the Month

"It's completely preventable and curable, so something has gone horribly wrong that this has occurred ... We know how to address this, but we do need extra support and resources in order to do it," - Meghan Curry O'Connell, the chief public health officer for the Great Plains Tribal Leaders' Health Board and citizen of the Cherokee Nation

[Editor's note: This quote is from the article above titled "Syphilis outbreak should be treated as public health emergency, tribes say" KFF Health News 11/12/2024]

About Public Health Law News

CDC's Public Health Law Program (PHLP) works to improve the health of the public by performing research, creating tools, and providing training to help practitioners understand and make law and policy decisions. Every month, PHLP publishes the Public Health Law News with announcements, legal tools, court opinions, job openings & more.

Subscribe!
Subscribe to Public Health Law News or access past issues. To make comments or suggestions, send an email message to PHLawProgram@cdc.gov.