Also known as: public securities · public safety
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The state of being secure from danger or attack. It supplies the justification for suspending the writ of habeas corpus during rebellion or invasion and identifies a significant interference supporting a public nuisance when conduct affects public health, peace, or convenience.
Pierce Patterson is detained by federal authorities after an armed incursion crosses the border. The President suspends the writ for persons in the affected region. The court upholds the suspension because the invasion creates an immediate threat to public security that requires the measure.
Phoenix Technologies operates a chemical plant that releases fumes into a residential neighborhood. Residents sue claiming the emissions create a public nuisance. The court finds the conduct involves significant interference with public safety and therefore constitutes an unreasonable interference with a right common to the public.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Piper Patel owns a bakery subject to a state maximum-hours law enacted after several workplace fires. She challenges the statute as an unconstitutional interference with liberty of contract. The court rejects the public-security justification and invalidates the law as an arbitrary restriction on contract rights.
Parker Phillips owns riverfront land the city condemns to build a levee after repeated floods. He claims the taking violates due process. The court upholds the condemnation because the levee project directly serves public security by protecting the community from future inundation.
Penelope Price is tried for arson after setting a fire that endangers neighbors. She raises an insanity defense. The court rejects the defense because the evidence shows she understood the nature of her act and the danger it posed to public security.
Progressive Healthcare runs promotional ads for its energy-efficient heating systems. A state commission bans the ads to conserve energy during shortages. The court finds the ban unconstitutional because it burdens speech more than necessary even though the restriction was intended to advance public security.
The Constitution permits suspension only in cases of rebellion or invasion when public safety requires it. The condition is narrow and applies only during active threats that make ordinary judicial process impossible.
Conduct that creates a significant interference with public safety satisfies one of the factors for finding an unreasonable interference with a right common to the public. The interference must be substantial and affect the community at large rather than isolated individuals.
Yes. Special needs related to public safety beyond ordinary law enforcement permit testing without individualized suspicion or a warrant when employees are involved in train accidents.
…The police agencies—all the way from municipal and state forces to the federal bureaus—are responsible for law enforcement and public safety in this country. I am proud of their efforts, which in my view are not fairly characterized by the Court's opinion. I The ipse dixit of the majority has no support in our cases.…