Children’s Health Defense, Orange County Board of Education Challenge Governor Newsom’s ‘State of Emergency’ in California Supreme Court
Los Angeles, CA, Aug. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orange County Board of Education and Children’s Health Defense (CHD) filed a Petition for Writ of Mandate directly in the California Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon asking the Court to declare an immediate end to Governor Newsom’s declared State of Emergency, based on his own words.
“This Petition is not about masks, vaccines, or any other specific policy issue," said Scott J. Street, an attorney for the Orange County Board of Education who successfully litigated a similar case against the State last year after state health officials arbitrarily closed gyms. “It concerns fundamental issues of governance that are the foundation of American self-government and which cannot exist in an indefinite state of emergency."
The Emergency Services Act states that an emergency can be declared when there exists “extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the state.” The Governor must terminate a state of emergency “at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant.”
Governor Newsom’s own words established the emergency was over when he argued last week in County of Ventura v. Godspeak Calvary Chapel that:
“the State no longer faces a threat that the State’s health care system will be overwhelmed. To the contrary, all available evidence suggests a resurgence of cases, hospitalizations. and deaths to the level that prompted the Blueprint [for a Safer Economy last August] and the other now-rescinded public health directives at issue is unlikely to occur in light of the percentage of eligible Californians who are fully vaccinated.”
“The Governor can’t have it both ways. He can’t claim victory over the emergency of Covid-19 in one court and immediately claim an emergency exists in another just so that he can keep the people of California in a headlock,” said Robert Tyler, counsel for Orange County Board of Education.
“This lawsuit seeks to restore democracy in California after a 17-month suspension,” said CHD Board Chair Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “Californians are tired of being governed by unelected technocrats ruling us by arbitrary dictates with no scientific basis in violation of our constitutional rights to transparency, public participation, and due process. Government best serves public health when citizens participate in the regulatory process to craft policies annealed in the cauldron of debate as the regulatory system provides.”
###
Children’s Health Defense is devoted to the health of people and our planet. Our mission is to end the childhood health epidemics by working aggressively to eliminate harmful exposures, hold those responsible accountable, and establish safeguards to prevent future harm.
About Tyler & Bursch, LLP With offices in Murrieta and Irvine CA, Tyler & Bursch’s attorneys have been litigating civil liberties cases for more than 25 years in federal and state court. Tyler & Bursch provides pro-bono legal support with the assistance and through the non-profit legal organization, Advocates for Faith & Freedom.
About Musick, Peeler & Garrett, LLP Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP is an established general practice firm with over one hundred attorneys practicing in six of California's major metropolitan centers - Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Orange County, Westlake Village and Santa Barbara. Musick Peeler’s expansion from its origins in Los Angeles has mirrored the growth of business and industry in California.
CONTACT: Rita Shreffler Children's Health Defense 202-599-1461 rita.shreffler@childrenshealthdefense.org
