I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season.
It's been an absolutely crazy year. One of the issues that has come up is whether local governments can set curfews during the pandemic. Judge Raag Singhal heard a challenge from some Broward bars and restaurants to the Broward midnight curfew, and they won. From the Sun-Sentinel:
A federal court has rejected Broward County’s curfew on bars and restaurants, raising the possibility that nightclubs in much of Florida could operate through the night as COVID-19 rages.
The court specifically cited Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order in September that removed all restrictions on bars and restaurants as the state moved to Phase 3 of the coronavirus recovery.
Broward County’s rules, prohibiting the sale or alcohol between midnight and 5 a.m., violate the governor’s order and are “speculative and arbitrary,” wrote U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal of the Southern District of Florida.
Since DeSantis reopened the economy, COVID-19 cases have soared around the state, particularly in South Florida. Crowds of maskless partiers have become common in the region’s popular entertainment districts.
Why is a federal judge ruling whether a local rule violates a state order?
ReplyDeleteDear anonymous at 4:08:
ReplyDeleteC.f. Constitution of the United States.
See also, Ex Parte Milligan, 71 U.S. 2 (1866): “The Constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and in peace, and covers with the shield of its protection all classes of men, at all times, and under all circumstances.”
Robert....state order.
ReplyDeleteSo were poll taxes, Jim Crow, various gun control measures, and a zillion other state and local laws that have been subject to, and fallen to, US Constitutional scrutiny.
ReplyDeleteI read the case is in federal court because defendant(s) removed it from state court.
ReplyDelete