Andy beshear masks series#

'The judge didn’t even give the state a chance to respond,' Douglas told The Courier Journal. University of Kentucky law professor Josh Douglas said the ruling 'seems like a big judicial overreach.' 'The bottom line is that - in the final analysis - everything rides on the state Supreme Court’s decision,' Marcosson said. 'If the Supreme Court decides that the law the General Assembly passed violates the governor’s executive powers, then its decision will be controlling and define the proper scope Gov.

Since Bertelsman based his ruling on the new laws, University of Louisville law professor Sam Marcosson said 'the case pending before the Kentucky Supreme Court will have the final say on who is right.' Related: As Kentucky schools proceed under COVID-19 mask mandate, some parents protest 'The Executive Branch cannot simply ignore laws passed by the duly-elected representatives of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,' Bertelsman wrote in his opinion. Then, just before the oral arguments before the Kentucky Supreme Court in that case, a Boone Circuit judge instead enjoined Beshear from issuing new emergency orders related to the pandemic, ruling the spring's legislation targeting Beshear is in effect.īertelsman was not provided a copy of the Franklin injunction before making his ruling, Staley contended. A Franklin Circuit Court judge blocked their implementation in March as a lawsuit over Beshear's authority worked its way through the court system.

Andy beshear masks series#

Kentucky's Republican-majority legislature passed a series of bills earlier this year aimed at curbing Beshear's powers. 'The church was saying, 'Yeah, we have a plan, can we do our plan or do we follow the governor's plan?''īeshear's executive authority is a matter of multiple, conflicting legal challenges facing the Kentucky Supreme Court, which is expected to rule on the cases next week. 'The parents were being pitted between their church and government,' he said. Voelker said they're happy with the ruling, but noted it was a 'tough position.' 'The federal court’s ruling could place thousands of Kentucky children at risk and undoubtedly expose them to the most dangerous version of COVID-19 we have ever seen,' Staley said.īertelsman 'ruled without hearing from the Governor and with absolutely no consideration of the consequences of exposure and quarantine that we will see,' Staley continued. Search the data: How many COVID-19 cases and quarantines are in your JCPS school? Masks will continue to be required in those settings. Thursday's order does not impact separate mask requirements implemented by the Kentucky Department of Education and the Department of Public Health for public K-12 schools and child care centers. A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Louisville said Friday their schools will continue to require masks. On Friday, Bertelsman said he would consider narrowing the ruling at a hearing scheduled for Tuesday at 1 p.m. The current order makes no distinction between where the mandate can and cannot be enforced.įollowing the ruling, the Diocese of Covington's superintendent of schools Kendra McGuire told families they would be returning to a masks-optional policy. District Court Judge William Bertelsman granted a temporary restraining order Thursday, blocking Beshear's mask mandate after a group of parents sued on behalf of their kids, who attend a private school in Northern Kentucky.īoth parties have agreed the order should apply only to schools in the Diocese of Covington, according to Beshear's spokeswoman Crystal Staley and the parents' attorney, Brandon Voelker. However, the ruling only affects private schools, since the Kentucky Department of Education separately has required masks at all public schools. Andy Beshear from enforcing Kentucky's school mask mandate, saying Beshear's recent executive order is akin to 'tyranny.'