On Oct. 5, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that has the potential to greatly impact state and local municipalities’ ability to fight widespread threats to public and environmental health.
The American Medical Association declared gun violence a “public health crisis” in 2016. In June 2024, then U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, took a significant stand on the relationship between public health and gun violence by issuing the first ever advisory opinion declaring gun violence a national public health crisis.
In the last several years, notable shifts in Supreme Court jurisprudence have eroded the deference that courts have historically granted to health officials.
On May 21, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Hamm v. Smith, a case being heavily watched by both criminal justice and disability rights advocates for its potential impact on convictions for individuals sentenced to death involving a determination of intellectual disability.
For some, the just-completed 2025-2026 term of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) represents a series of “glancing blows” related to the protection and promotion of the public’s health.
Is a 10-year-old capable of understanding their Miranda rights? What about an 8-year-old? This is an age-old policy question: How do we determine the right age cutoffs?
“If he has a conscience he will suffer for his mistake. That will be his punishment — as well as the prison.”– Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment
Following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) provision granting Medicare the authority to negotiate drug prices, pharmaceutical companies and allied organizations have brought a dozen lawsuits challenging the legality of the negotiation program.
In a landmark 2013 decision, Maryland v. King, the Supreme Court upheld mandatory DNA collection from arrestees as part of booking procedures, likening cheek swabs to fingerprinting. But 13 years later, renewed public concern about genetic privacy seriously undermines the assumptions underlying King.
Health care is consistently ranked among the top concerns of the nation’s voters. A special issue for health care voters is electing candidates who are committed to making high-quality health care accessible and affordable to all.
