St. Louis and Jackson counties are seeking to reverse a court order issued by a Cole County judge in November that renders null and void health regulations that were used to impose COVID-19 restrictions, according to media reports.
“Local health departments have just far exceeded their authority,” said attorney Mathew Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel law firm. “You can't use public health as an excuse to violate the U.S. Constitution and individual freedoms.”
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has used Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green’s decision to prohibit local health regulations.
“The court decision is very good because these local health departments don't have unlimited authority to issue orders and act like kings, and that's what's happened,” Staver told the St. Louis Record. “State court litigation ultimately struck down all this excessive use of the authority that these public health departments were abusing and reigned them in because they have bypassed the courts and they've bypassed the legislature and they've acted unilaterally on their own, which has caused a significant number of problems.”
St. Louis and Jackson counties have asked to appeal Green’s ruling or, alternatively, a new trial.
“Few public health officials, local government leaders, and school boards have any idea what they are legally permitted to do or are legally prohibited from doing,” counsel for the counties wrote in their motion to intervene and stay enforcement of Green’s order.
The underlying litigation that led to Green’s decision involved a lawsuit that opposed St. Louis County COVID-19 dining restrictions.
“There's no question in my mind that these local health departments would have severely restricted churches, places of worship, restaurants, and other places of public accommodation with both the Delta and Omicron variants if it weren’t for this judge’s order and our litigation,” Staver added.
In May 2021, California Gov. Gavin Newsom agreed to pay $1.3 million to Liberty Counsel for attorneys fees and costs to settle litigation brought on behalf of Harvest Rock Church and Harvest Rock International Ministries. The settlement includes a statewide injunction against COVID-19 restrictions against places of worship in California.
"As a result, that has drawn a red line, and that's why you don't see these restrictions right now being reimposed," Staver said. "I'm sure there are local health departments and governors that want to but I think they realize that the red line has been drawn."