The courts will likely agree that the federal government has the power to enforce vaccine mandates, but they’ll say that the rules and punishments will have to come from Congress, not from President Joe Biden, Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax.
He also told Friday’s “American Agenda” that he expects the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a preliminary ruling within a month over whether Biden should have issued the mandates, and the decision will depend on the answers to several questions.
“No. 1, is this something the federal government can do as compared to the states?” Dershowitz said. “The states have police power. The federal government doesn’t have police power. The federal government’s powers have to derive from the text of the Constitution.”
Also, he asked if the federal government can “violate bodily integrity” and require mandates, and the third, and determining question, is if the first two questions are answered yes, can the president order mandates rather than Congress.
“That’s the one I think the courts will answer no,” Dershowitz said. “I think the courts will say the federal government does have the power because this is a national issue across the state lines. It’s not limited to states. It’s contagious.
“I think they will say that in the event that science supports it, there can be mandated vaccinations with exceptions.”
However, while Dershowitz said he thinks the courts will say that the legislature, after holding hearings, can order mandates, the key question remains if the president will have the authority alone to order an emergency and order punishments.
“That’s generally relegated to the legislature in our system of government, so I think the courts will focus on that issue first and say that the president may not have the authority to do this without congressional authorization,” Dershowitz said.
It would have been better for Biden to follow the Constitution with his order, he continued, because “in the end, the end should not justify the means.”
“You can’t say it’s an emergency,” Dershowitz said. “This problem has existed since the first day of the Biden administration, and it will continue to exist on the last day of the Biden administration because we’re not going to see an end of COVID.
“We’re going to see COVID become like the flu. Seasonal different variations, different vaccinations, so it shouldn’t be done under the rubric of emergency. It should be done under the rubric of ordinary congressional power.”
Dershowitz also said he doesn’t think the courts will make determinations about allowing religious or other exemptions from a vaccine mandate until it determines if the president has the authority to make the rules rather than Congress.
Meanwhile, there will be three different types of defendants when the lawsuits start about Biden’s mandate, Dershowitz said.
“There will be individuals who will be fired, and they’ll sue immediately,” he said. “There will be companies — and I know there are some already who said we refuse to obey this mandate — and we’ve had companies and states indicate they’re going to file suit. This is going to be a big payday for lawyers, unfortunately, but it will get the case to court right away.”
Story cited here.
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