The first day of the Federalist Society's COVID-19 & the Law Conference finished with a panel discussion on "Federal Executive Power and COVID-19". The panel took place via teleconference on Thursday, June 11, 2020.
Has the federal executive branch overreacted or underreacted to the Covid-19 threat? To what extent is the proper federal role legislative rather than executive? Within the executive, what is the appropriate role of the White House and the agencies? Which aspects of the response call for political judgment and which call for technical judgment – and to what extent are the relevant agencies technical rather than political actors? What tools are legally available to the President and the rest of the federal executive branch to respond to COVID-19? How should they be used? What is the proper role of guidelines, like the various CDC guidelines, that are not legally binding as a regulatory matter but likely have liability implications and seem to have had considerable practical impact on decisions by State and private actors?
Featuring:

Hon. C. Boyden Gray, Founding Partner, Boyden Gray & Associates
Prof. Daniel B. Rodriguez, Harold Washington Professor of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
Prof. Lisa Grow Sun, Professor of Law, BYU J. Reuben Clark Law School
Moderator: Prof. Gary Lawson, Philip S. Beck Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law

*******
As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speakers.