A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf’s closures of businesses and limits on the sizes of gatherings are unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said the COVID-19 orders from Wolf and Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel violate the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly and due process, and he also cited violations of the equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment.
Read the ruling at this link:
The shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic “were undertaken with the good intention of addressing a public health emergency,” Stickman wrote.
“The liberties protected by the Constitution are not fair-weather freedoms — in place when times are good but able to be cast aside in times of trouble. There is no question that this Country has faced, and will face, emergencies of every sort,” Stickman 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.”
Instead, “the Constitution sets certain lines that may not be crossed, even in an emergency,” Stickman wrote, even if there is an emergency. The judge specifically cited the limitations on outdoor gatherings, as well as stay-home orders and business closures as violations of constitutional rights.
The case has ramifications across the nation, as municipalities and states grapple with how to keep people from getting the virus.
The governor of Pennsylvania is appealing the ruling. Similar lawsuits are underway in other states, such as Maine, where a federal appeals court is weighing the restrictions placed by Gov. Janet Mills on gatherings, as well as the 14-day quarantine for visitors and various business closures in that state.
Alaska has had numerous executive orders from both the governor and local jurisdictions that could find themselves cross threaded with the Constitution, if a lawsuit was brought.
Love this: “The liberties protected by the Constitution are not fair-weather freedoms”. Amen!
YEAH!
Does that mean Anchorage Muni and open up?
Don’t hold your Phil, Our Mayor ignores the law anyway
We need to bring lawsuits to borough, municipalities and anyone else that has taken your liberty so they can feel safe.
Come on, some lawyer needs to step up and get Berkowitz off our backs.
Lawyers aren’t going to do it for you. You and like minded citizens will have to come together, pool your resource (money) and pay a lawyer to file the necessary paperwork on your behalf.
Am about a third through the opinion — it’s a fun read. Komrade Ethan and even his municipal attorney may want to take a look at it. We all know that they are passionate defenders of all Constitutional rights. Well, of some Constitutional rights. OK, of the rights that they like and the groups they like, but maybe not others. But certainly not the rights of anyone who is not the victim of hidden systemic racism. Can I say that? Darn – this is so complicated.
Not a problem, Komrade Ethan, federal judges do not have jurisdiction over the Municipality. Do they? Anyway, President Kamala Harris is going to fix all of this.
Komrad has a DUTY to read it and adjust accordingly
This has been the very thing I have been harping on since March. The government CAN NOT shut down your business, ever. If you are operating a legal enterprise, the government can tax the crap out of you but they can’t shut you down.
“ if a lawsuit was brought.”
.
I’ve posted that before, especially in regard to the diminutive dictator, little E.
That, and peaceful protests.
More Marxist rules. Hey! why not resist.
The Wuhan fiasco was never about significant health risks to any but a very small percentage of humanity who were already knocking on heavens door. The lockdowns and economic destruction were/are necessary for reasons other than health of the citizens, as is shown in the case of many cities and states with the ‘scamdemic’ all but gone but the ’emergency’ still persisting, accompanied by more and more draconian measures against the citizens. Fear is still promoted and leftists are fighting tooth and nail against losing the ’emergency’ powers. More judges are needed like Judge Stickman. He makes sense with his ruling and has the courtesy to explain it. A rarity in many jurisdictions.
Elections coming soon. Voting will make you feel good.
Stupid! Ignorance at its best, and also contrary to prior SCOTUS ruling dealing with public health emergency. So everyone has the constitutional right to commit suicide, put one’s children at risk, and kill one’s friends, family, and neighbors? That’s what this ruling says. If your neighbor is diabetic you might as well knock on the door and shoot him. It’s faster and a lot less miserable way to die! Thin apartment walls and shared ductwork isn’t going to keep the virus out. I hope every state challenges it and Congress gets smart and makes a few constitutional changes! This is one of the most inane, ignorant, idiotic things I’ve ever heard! How I wish I could afford to move to a sane country!!
Gayle,
It appears you have already had a dose of the ‘kool-aid’. The virus is not the culprit to our woes. Heavy handed, leftist “governing” is the root and stem of Alaska’s and America’s unconstitutional strikes against free citizens. Time for life to go on without some idiot saying wearing a ‘mask’ is a savior, forcing it on everyone else because they can, and letting criminal thugs run amok. The left has a ‘grand’ scheme in the works. It will become more apparent as we get closer to Nov. 3. Panic is what they want. Hang in there.
? If you think there’s ANY OTHER COUNTRY safer and/or more sane than America, go for it! ? I will help you pack!
Dunleavy and all mayors who have violated our civil liberties are not protected under their political positions like the Senators and Congressman. They both can be held accountable!!! I have sent this to Gov. Dunleavy several times with NO response,
Gov. Dunleavy,
Are the limits in the Alaska state constitution still in place that lists the only powers granted the state for a guaranteed republican form of government as the states and US constitution limits it’s power legally?
Suggestions are not statutory laws set in place by the Alaskan legislature. How do you propose to fine or hold supposed violators accountable.
Await your response
The argument in the State Supreme court used against Gov. Whitmore that is not being broadcasted had left the State supreme court with no rebuttal. (One week ago)This argument was put together by Tim Harrington lead investigator with NALC it was set on case law and case precedence already established by the US Supreme Court and the lower courts can’t rule against the US Supreme Court.
NAV,
Governor Dunleavy made the same mistake President Trump did. They both listened to people they thought they could trust and wound up with the ‘wuhan scamdemic’ blues, along with Alaska and the rest of America, except South Dakota. In S.D., there was no economic purge of small business. There were no restrictions on who got to work and who didn’t want to. No “emergency” powers usurping the Constitution for power hungry leftists. No masks, except as a courtesy to President Trump. No begging for “free” other peoples’ money. Just about the only state in America that didn’t take freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from their citizens. Governor Noem is to be commended.
Governor Dunleavy did what he thought was best for controlling the scamdemic in Alaska that “professional” health officials provided ‘statistics’ for, along with ‘information’ given him by his trusted (?) advisors.
Yet when he took office, Dunleavy swore to uphold both the US and Alaskan Constitutions. They are both very clear about the scope of government. South Dakota’s Kristi Noem seemed to understand the oath she took… but things are so bad that we must now “commend” her for simply doing her job! (Yes, she is a hero in that she was under intense pressure to fold, but ultimately, she simply did her job!)
Zink and Crum should be run out of town on a rail, but sorry, the bucks stops at Dunleavy’s desk. He cannot blame “advisors” for his actions. He picked the wrong advisors when it was his job to have the right ones, and it indicates that he has very little commitment to or understanding of America’s tradition of the rule of law. He should rightly be prosecuted for what he did in shutting down the state (and *still* is doing to the tourism and fishing industries with his standing orders – see mandates 10, 14, 15, and 17).
I voted for Dunleavy but will not do so again. His “mistakes” have cost many of us our livelihoods, and Alaska its economy, and since he STILL refuses to repeal them, they will continue to have disastrous effects well into the future. Justice now and in the future demands he be prosecuted for these offenses.
Also take note, that many of the senior “advisors” for Pres Trump, and as well, Gov Dunleavy, have been in politics for decades and it is becoming more and more evident that the ones who are pushing for state and local leaders to start or continue their destructive state/city-wide unconstitutional mandates are doing so out of fear of (and, also in efforts to keep hidden) their own crimes of human trafficking and pedophilia being revealed.
I’m betting that Ethan Berkowitz is aware that his crimes will soon be made public and he is acting out of desperation because he knows he has nothing left to lose once the Feds come after him and his indictment is unsealed.
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