A motion by St. Louis County to dismiss Attorney General Eric Schmitt's lawsuit over its mask mandate and its accompanying preliminary injunction was denied by a St. Louis County Circuit Court judge last week.
Judge Nellie Ribaudo said in her order that the St. Louis County Council should have approved and issued a new public health order rather than extending an existing one.
“What surprises me most about the judge’s decision, in this case, is the lack of seeking expert health opinion on both sides to maintain an appearance of impartiality,” said Alan Thomalla, a health psychologist with Missouri’s Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT commission. “It is a new take on blind justice.”
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, to extend local health orders, including a mask mandate, House Bill (HB) 271 requires the approval of county commissions, city councils, or elected boards.
Gov. Mike Parson signed HB 271 into law on June 15.
“This case is important because we appear to be watching a political clash superimposed over an unfolding public health crisis and real lives are being affected,” Thomalla told the St. Louis Record. “The focus in the court is on procedural maneuvering and questioning of authority on multiple levels where one might otherwise assume the emphasis would be on protecting the health of the public.”
Counsel for St. Louis County had argued that the case was moot since the city council extended its July 26 face-covering mandate however the court disagreed.
“As for the claim that the issues are moot, the court finds the Defendant’s arguments that the Council had the authority and ability to extend the July 26, 2021 Face Covering Order despite their vote to terminate the order in conflict with their claim of mootness,” Ribaudo wrote in her Sept. 20 opinion.
A remote permanent injunction hearing is set for 10 a.m. on Oct. 18..
“There is noise and threats but it is not likely that any decision the court made here would ever be the foundation of any significant public health policy,” Thomalla said. “Missouri, like the rest of the country, appears to be struggling with the question, where do we want to go as a country and who do we want to be as a people? The election process will answer this question.”