Recent studies are now starting to show that the COVID-19 virus is, on average, trending slightly downward in the United States. It is becoming clear that the safety measures put in place throughout our country are at least starting to work. As a result, the legal world may be transitioning into a different phase of pandemic management—one focused less on the measures used to improve safety, and more on the ongoing enforcement and aftermath of these measures.

Last month, Californians were given a very public lesson on enforcement. That state’s shelter-in-place order was issued on March 17, before any other states had taken such a wide ranging approach. Initially, most beaches in Southern California were subject to the same basic restrictions as applied to the entire state. Non-essential businesses were closed and people advised to stay indoors, but parks and beaches remained technically open. Then photographs published in the Sunday, March 23 New York Times, depicting what looked like a throng on weekend visitors on the Venice Beach boardwalk, went viral.