Federal judge rules Pennsylvania's coronavirus orders are unconstitutional

[dead0man]

link-The Hill

A federal judge ruled on Monday that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) coronavirus orders, which shut down the state, closed businesses and limited gatherings, were unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, a Trump appointee, said in his opinion that COVID-19 orders from Wolf and Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine violated and continue to violate the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly and the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.

The efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus “were undertaken with the good intention of addressing a public health emergency,” Stickman wrote.

“But even in an emergency, the authority of government is not unfettered,” he added.

“There is no question that this Country has faced, and will face, emergencies of every sort,” he wrote. “But the solution to a national crisis can never be permitted to supersede the commitment  to individual liberty that stands as the foundation of the American experiment.”

Four Pennsylvania counties — Butler, Fayette, Greene and Washington — along with Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), three state representatives, and seven businesses and their owners challenged the state government’s coronavirus orders. Their lawsuit was filed in May, when these counties were in the “red” phase that required residents to stay at home.

good news!

[MasterJedi]

Trump appointee, will easily be overturned on appeal.

[brucejoel99]

Trump appointee, will easily be overturned on appeal.

Yeah, wake me up when the 3rd Circuit decides to uphold this ruling (hint: they won't).

[Crane]

good news!

I'll let that speak for itself.

Here's your boy who sued the governor in this case. A very stable genius.

[MarkD]

link-The Hill

A federal judge ruled on Monday that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) coronavirus orders, which shut down the state, closed businesses and limited gatherings, were unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, a Trump appointee, said in his opinion that COVID-19 orders from Wolf and Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine violated and continue to violate the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly and the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.

The efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus “were undertaken with the good intention of addressing a public health emergency,” Stickman wrote.

“But even in an emergency, the authority of government is not unfettered,” he added.

“There is no question that this Country has faced, and will face, emergencies of every sort,” he wrote. “But the solution to a national crisis can never be permitted to supersede the commitment  to individual liberty that stands as the foundation of the American experiment.”

Four Pennsylvania counties — Butler, Fayette, Greene and Washington — along with Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), three state representatives, and seven businesses and their owners challenged the state government’s coronavirus orders. Their lawsuit was filed in May, when these counties were in the “red” phase that required residents to stay at home.

good news!

The orders violate ALL THREE clauses? The more is NOT the merrier!

I don't mind invoking the Free Assembly Clause, but I cringe at what the judge was thinking and saying as he invoked the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause. Those two clauses get abused far too much in Constitutional Law (see my essay here). When judges start invoking those clauses, it's almost always just because they don't like the law (or whatever governmental action is involved). And the fact that this judge is invoking those two clauses along with the Free Assembly Clause makes it seem like he's desperate to justify a ruling based on his own preferences rather than an objective interpretation of the Constitution.

[dead0man]

same deal in Michigan <---PDF!!!

From Reason

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Friday that a series of executive orders put in place by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to combat COVID-19 were unconstitutional and are now invalid under Michigan law.

The Democratic governor's directives were an "unlawful delegation of legislative power to the executive branch in violation of the Michigan Constitution," wrote Justice Stephen J. Markman.

Over the course of the pandemic, Whitmer sparked a great deal of debate over how much power a state's executive branch should have in addressing a public health crisis. The governor's April stay-at-home order prohibited "all public and private gatherings of any number of people occurring among persons not part of a single household." It banned the in-store sale of paint, outdoor goods, and other allegedly nonessential items at big-box retail stores, so those establishments were forced to block off certain aisles to customers. In most cases, it disallowed travel between Michigan residences, including to vacation homes in the northern area of the state. It shuttered lawn care services, despite research suggesting that the virus is much harder to transmit outdoors. It made it illegal to use motorboats, though residents could use boats without motors.

Lottery sales, however, were deemed essential, likely because the proceeds help fund the state's public schools.

<snip>

"We conclude that the Governor lacked the authority to declare a 'state of emergency' or a 'state of disaster' under the EMA after April 30, 2020, on the basis of the COVID-19 pandemic," the court said. "Furthermore, we conclude that the EPGA is in violation of the Constitution of our state because it purports to delegate to the executive branch the legislative powers of state government—including its plenary police powers—and to allow the exercise of such powers indefinitely. As a consequence, the EPGA cannot continue to provide a basis for the Governor to exercise emergency powers."

[dead0man]

a confirmation of the win for liberty in Michigan

and a loss in Wisconsin

https://twitter.com/GovEvers/status/1315685980297330688