Since the Governor has unilaterally ruled that gatherings are banned indefinitely, legal challenges in court have followed all over the Commonwealth. While the Pennsylvania state courts have upheld the Governor’s authority, the legal challenges in federal court have focused on constitutional questions.
One restriction in particular that has drawn legal scrutiny is the restriction on gatherings of more than 250. The first Amendment of the Constitution guarantees the right of the people to peaceably assemble. This was an issue in the case of County of Butler, et al. v. Thomas W. Wolf et al. (USDC W.D. Pa., Docket 2:20-cv-00677), in which Judge William S. Stickman ruled recently that the Governor’s open ended restriction on gatherings was unconstitutional.
The Governor’s legal team filed a motion for a stay of Judge Stickman’s order. That motion was denied this afternoon. What this means is that the Governor’s restrictions are, as of this minute, unconstitutional and should not be enforced in my personal opinion. This decision will be appealed by the Governor to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
That doesn’t mean that the covid risk has gone away, but what it means is that people and businesses have to exercise their own restraint, versus being dictated to by Harrisburg.
More analysis on this to follow.