FACT CHECK: No, the Supreme Court did not deem social distancing unconstitutional in 1866
Claim: The 1866 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Ex parte Milligan deemed government-mandated emergency measures such as social distancing unconstitutionalAs states slowly reopen businesses to prevent further economic recession, individuals fatigued by social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders publicly have questioned the legality of such mandates.
The post then quotes what the user claims to be Section 98 of the court's opinion, which says any enforcement by officials to suspend “constitutionally guaranteed rights ” as “making war against our constitution.”More: Are you social distancing correctly? An AR guide to flattening the curve amid coronavirus
Story continues“Milligan contended that as he was not serving in the U.S. military, was not a prisoner of war, and was not living in a part of the U.S. that was in rebellion against the federal government, the U.S. military had no jurisdiction to arrest, try, and sentence him,” Snopes reported. The right to protect the publicThe government’s right to use police power to protect public health was upheld by the 1905 Supreme Court case Jacobsen v. Massachusetts, which as Snopes reported affirmed “the legal right of state legislatures to pass laws mandating use of smallpox vaccine by residents” and to enact reasonable regulations in the interest of public health.
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