Orders by state and federal judges requiring Covid vaccination as a condition of bail or probation prompted skepticism from legal scholars about fairness and whether the mandates blur ethical lines.
While several scholars said in interviews with Bloomberg Law that the handful of recent decisions are likely legally sound, they raised questions about how far courts should go to balance public health and civil liberties.
“The big ethical dilemma here is that courts are leveraging the defendant’s vulnerability,” said Jessie Hill, a professor and associate dean for research and faculty development at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. “They ...