A federal judge in the Western District of Pennsylvania had ruled that Governor Tom Wolfe’s dictates, decrees and rules were/are unconstitutional restrictions on liberty.
U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV concluded the governor’s stay at home orders, limits on gatherings and closure of “non life-sustaining” businesses violated citizens’ Constitutional rights. The judge was responding to a lawsuit brought by a group of Pennsylvania businesses.
“The Constitution cannot accept the concept of a ‘new normal’ where the basic liberties of the people can be subordinated to open-ended emergency mitigation measures. Rather, the Constitution sets certain lines that may not be crossed, even in an emergency.” ~ Judge Stickman [full pdf below]
The well-thought ruling, while accepting and appreciating the challenges presented to government, finds the arbitrary and capricious definitions/applications of rules amount to ever-changing dictates that infringed on basic constitutional rights without any due process in place. Full ruling below.
One win for freedom.
Here’s the ruling:
[scribd id=476030113 key=key-OJY5Tlgqdea55SGbCr8Q mode=scroll]
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(Reuters) […] Ruling on a lawsuit brought by business owners and Republican politicians, U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, a Trump appointee, said the restrictions were executed with good intentions but were arbitrary and violated individual rights.
While some of the limits have been lifted since the lawsuit was filed in May, the Democratic governor has maintained some restrictions on gatherings and on bars and restaurants.
The Wolf administration was reviewing the ruling, a spokesperson told Reuters. (read more)
“Every single American should be wearing a mask WHEN THEY’RE OUTSIDE for the next 3 months AT A MINIMUM …” – China Joe. Yup, even if you’re herding cattle by yourself. Even if you’re harvesting corn. Even if you’re running along the beach at 6 AM. “Now that’s leadership”, says Chameleon. That’s insanity say normal people.
At :55 “expidentially”. What a maroon.
Gosh just look at old “lunch bucket Joe, conqueror of Corn Pop” straining to read the words.
Next he will be thanking Michael for the nice life they have had together. Jill who?
Aaaarrrrgggghhhhh! I cannot stand to listen to these people. I thought sleepy Joe was bad but then it switched to her and my stomach lurched. Just in case anyone has forgotten, here is the post about masks from an expert who had at this point in his career already spent 30-40 years working on and studying how to handle pandemics:
I know what all the maskers have said to refute his statements but, hey, this was in March and we were well into the beginnings of the Wuflu. Thankfully President Trump was already taking action! https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/31/21117403/trump-coronavirus-ban-travel-non-us-citizens-china
The Democrats MUST be defeated! I’m not too worried about President Trump except for the massive voter fraud they are going to unleash. I’ll do poll watching but other than that, I have to let others handle it. I AM very worried about not gaining in the House and losing the Senate. The only reason I’ve come up with for them to run someone as pathetic as Joe Biden is that they are using him, and her, to distract our attention from the House and Senate races and the real possibility that the demo’s could pick up seats in both. And the RINO Senators will not have a problem with that as long as they can get back to making the billions of dollars President Trump is costing them.
I’m thinking wear a black domino mask and a 45 Peacemaker….
“You wanna fine me how much?!?”
The sign language person had a hard freeze on one of those clips. Too funny.
I tiny breath of freedom from the tyranny of Gov. Crying Wolf here in PA. May he and his committee have to follow his own directives for all eternity!
I want President Trump to win the election. Then I want him to use his POWER as Commander in Chief to restore LAW and ORDER to this country. Is that too hard for people to understand? I know the Libs will destroy aka riot blah blah blah but I don’t give a shit b/c it will only be in their little shitholes of society.
I live in SE PA, 20 miles from Philfadelphia and when they start destroying Philly I may have to get closer just to save the history of our City. There are many Patriots still living in Philly although the enemedia won’t let you see that and they will fight to save it as well.
Where are our Republican “so called leaders” calling out this BS?
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IMHO, I know they are just puppets but very influencial puppets indeed. SOROS and his cabal are next.
(Comment edited by Admin…)
CTH takes death threats seriously. We don’t wish to see our site taken down.
Thank you, Ad rem. Sorry I went over the line and I respect your concerns. The last thing I want is for this site for taken down. Point well taken.
The he/she Pennsylvania health director took his/her mom out of the nursing home she was in for years the day before he/she ordered nursing homes in Pennsylvania to accept elderly patients with active Coronavirus killing thousands of seniors. He/she explained that it was only a coincidence that his/her mom decided on her own to leave the nursing home she had already paid for on a whim and that he/she had nothing to do with her decision to leave!
didn’t cuomo also remove his mother in the same way, right before imprisoning vulnerable seniors in death camps, and knowingly infecting them with china virus? There were other locations for infected patients which were unused.
proof of intent, which the Doublestandards of Justice (DOJ/FBI) claim hillary did not have….
The he/she Pennsylvania health director took his/her mom out of the nursing home she was in for years the day before he/she ordered nursing homes in Pennsylvania to accept elderly patients with active Coronavirus killing thousands of seniors. He/she explained that it was only a coincidence that his/her mom decided on her own to leave the nursing home she had already paid for on a whim and that he/she had nothing to do with her decision to leave!
From the pennlive.com news website:
“Gov. Tom Wolf’s spokeswoman issued a statement saying the governor does intend to seek a stay to the order and file an appeal.”
The continuing restrictions on Pennsylvanians have been all about the psychological effect on all of us. As long as people are persuaded, through continuing restrictions, that there remains risk to their health, especially older Pennsylvanians, they will be more amenable to vote by mail.
This is what Wolf & Co., the DNC, BLM, Obama & Co, Soros & Co., and everyone else who needs maximum disruption to the election want, and they all will go to any length to ensure.
I saw on another site that the good people of Michigan have amassed enough signatories to the petition to give Waxface Witless the boot. Signatures must be verified, and unfortunately the Sec. of State, Dimm writ large, has authority over that function, and she has shut-down previous efforts. But they have garnered thousands of signatures more than required. Good luck to Michigan!
I anticipate demoralizing news tomorrow from the PA Governor’s office, but hopeful that this decision today will launch a new effort in the State General Assembly. The five Articles of Impeachment are still floating around in one of the two Chambers. Maybe now courage will prevail.
What demoralizing news can they put out? That they are going to violate the law again and continue on despite the court ruling? Let them, then the Feds can get involved….although Barr and the DOJ seem to be more interested in covering for Mueller, Weissman, and the other dirty Senators in Washington rather than do their jobs.
I wouldn’t put it past Wolfe to blow it off and do what he wants…who’s going to stop him, right? Who? And this is what he has on his side…..
I am becoming increasingly disgusted with the sheeple mask wearers. It is becoming a clear indicator of those who are knowledgeable, aware and involved and those who are “following orders”.
I never voluntarily wear a useless cloth mask; until I am forced to. I really needed to do some copying at a Staples today so I had a mask in my pocket; just in case.
There were very few people in the store and no one in the copying area. I never came within six feet of any one else. After a few minutes; a store clerk came up to me and handed me a mask. I took it from his hand without comment or eye contact. Then I wrapped the elastic around both ears…and then the mask around my chin!
Check this out!! I’m praying it’s true and does like the California fires!
https://apple.news/AchTG8LRiTFmJ0g6ta5q6Qg
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I read the Judge’s decision up until page 55 and realized I could not read anymore. THANK YOU for posting the Court’s Decision.
HAVE BEEN furious ALL THE LAST WEEKEND re Wolfe’s namby-pamby words about MAIL IN VOTING. Threatening to veto a bill by the Legislature that recognizes FIVE days isn’t enough time to have a mail in vote counted.
This ruling PROVES Wolfe lives in a TIME ZONE of obfuscation. Sigh.
Am so VERY HAPPY tonight that all his BS is being challenged. What a GREAT DAY for the citizen’s of PA (where I reside) and all other citizen’s of the US who have been ruled by their personal dictate’s for so long.
I thank Our Father who art in Heaven, and the Goddess of the mystical realms for this ruling.
“Goddess of the mystical realms”?
Hi Raghn Crow! Just made the term “Goddess of the Mystical Realms” up based on my own life experience. I work on my land here about 6 hours a day. I am not a nut job. Do not belong to a cult. Just saying that from my experience, there is something going on in my natural world that is new every day. I don’t feel the spirit of Jesus on my land per se, but something else. Mother Earth- Goddess of the Mystical realms? Have lots of dirt under my fingernails. Soaking into me I GUESS!
These seniors have had it.
And remember that underneath all this masking and school and business closure is the fact that the states put the onus of enforcement on the schools and businesses. And this is possible because our Congress would not pass a bill giving those entities immunity from liability and lawsuits. Just like the states, counties, and cities enforced by threatening their businesses licences to operate.
All in the name of “keeping us safe from ourselves for our own good”, don’t ya know. But they of course have no duty to keep us safe from rioters, vandalism, arson, muggings , or beatings. or……
for those you’re on your own!
And of course large pharma has instant immunity for any bad side effects from a profitable vaccine. Nice racket.
Senator Doug Mastriano in PA is a great resource on the Wolf Tyranny and is fighting for Pennsylvanians. His Facebook page offers updates.
From yesterday’s ruling in PA it was discovered that Wolf was not even PRESENT during the meetings where essential/non-essential businesses (as well as waivers) were decided. This ignorant hack RUINED the lives of thousands of family’s whose small businesses were shut down and didn’t even attend the meetings…. his progressive and inexperienced staff made the decisions. Also discovered in the court opinion is that Wolf’s staff has no medical experience among the lot of them to make such decisions. They had no back-up for their decisions, nothing they could cite. Indeed they could not even point to where they defined “essential business. “ What a disgrace. Also pointed out was the fact that The legislature (Pa Assembly and Senate) were completely left out of the decision making. That means, we the people, were left out of the decision to ruin our lives.
Wolf will appeal. Hopefully the 3rd circuit will NOT grant a stay to the Governor. (We are waiting to hear) The 3rd circuit, in the end, should vote in favor of the people and the constitution but if the court grant Wolf’s stay, he will drag it out past the election.
I hope those small businesses were smart and had a law suite ready to file as soon as this ruling went down. Sue Wolfe now. Not the state but Wolfe as a private citizen. He was the reason your businesses lost money. He was the reason, it was his decision. He is liable, not the state. Force him to use his own money to defend himself.
Now do New York State.
Hell, now do Texas. I never thought I would ever be ashamed of being a Texan but Greg Abbott has put me there.
One tiny step in the right direction. Finally, lawyers challenging the constitutionality of the endless lockdown paradigm. I wish the lawyers took it all the way to the core, though. What’s at the core? “Science, falsely so-called.” A conspiracy that staggers the imagination. A conspiracy to defraud americans of their constitutional rights, to create a thirst for unproven, unaccountable vaccines that pose more danger to american lives than ISIS, CHINA or Russia ever could. a real Trojan horse. A coordinated global effort to stoke fear using a phony coronavirus test, naming symptoms to vaccine damage and or nutritional deficiency “COVID-19” with the false claim it’s caused by SARS CoV-2 when SARS CoV-2 was destroyed before we could know what it was, through declaring deaths by car accidents, gun shots, heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, pneumonia, influenza are “With” COVID-19 even without testing, or declaring multiple positive readings of the same person so it adds each positive like another person was positive, IOW’s, positive results are inflated for each person receiving more than one positive result. Labs declaring 100% positives, dead people getting letters months later declaring they were tested positive, financial incentives to hospital administrators for each death with COVID-19. And all without proof. No live cultures taken to prove the cause of death, no autopsies.
The fraud is breathtaking. I’m waiting to see a lawsuit that tackles all this fraud.
I know, don’t hold my breath…
I read about one family the demanded an autopsy after a “Covid” death. It was negative. A funeral home owner had similar story about another death.
In a discussion with a friend; he refused to believe that there were any inflated Covid numbers. I recited the lightning strike before falling off the roof, the gun shot, and the motorcycle “Covid” death examples and he still wouldn’t accept any of them. He also thought we should all were masks because we could infect someone else; IF we had Covid. He didn’t wear a mask while I was visiting.
This really is an excellent, excellent opinion — recommended reading even for non-lawyers. It really helps frame the issues so you can understand them. If you aren’t interested in a 64-page legal opinion, here’s a (somewhat) shorter summary.
At issue were Pennsylvania’s various orders limiting the size of meetings and occupancy in businesses, as well as the general lockdown orders that require citizens to stay in their homes unless an exception applies (e.g., “essential” workers).
There are two general standards where governmental action in the name of public health are concerned: (a) deferential Constitutional scrutiny and (b) “normal” Constitutional scrutiny. The governor here argued that he was entitled to the deferential standard but the Court did not buy it, instead applying “normal” rules for determining whether lockdown orders and restrictions on meetings could pass Constitutional muster.
Under the “normal” rules, there are three categories for assessing Constitutionality: a “rational basis” test, intermediate scrutiny, and strict scrutiny. The more a rule infringes on fundamental liberties (like free speech and the right to assemble), the more likely it will be assessed under the strict scrutiny standard.
Here, the court held that the rules against large gatherings and restricting occupancy were content-neutral. Along the way, it chided Pennsylvania’s governor for allowing large protests to go unchallenged while forbidding campaign gatherings and church assemblies. But, the Court did not apply the strict scrutiny standard yet still found Pennsylvania’s rules against assemblies to be arbitrary, overbroad and unconstitutional. This “lesser” standard makes it more likely that the ruling will hold up on appeal.
But, where this ruling really shines is in addressing the lockdown provisions. The Court first notes that these are not quarantine orders. Quarantines are when you force those who are infected or exposed to isolate. These rules force everyone to isolate regardless of exposure, so they’re lockdown orders not quarantine orders. Then, the Court surveys 19th and 20th century history and says that there is no precedent — anywhere before Corona — for lockdown orders. They’ve never been done before and even the CDC’s pre-virus recommendations never suggested that mass lockdowns would be appropriate. The Court explicitly says that the lockdown orders appear to be a ‘monkey see; monkey do’ response by countries, states and cities after witnessing China’s response to the virus.
Next, the Court decides which standard should be used to assess a lockdown order — rational basis, intermediate scrutiny or strict scrutiny. The Court makes the case that strict scrutiny should be applied because of the severe infringement on individual liberty. Indeed, the Court explicitly says that there should be a presumption that lockdown orders are unconstitutional unless the government can show compelling need otherwise. But, the Court again says that, even if just intermediate scrutiny is applied, the Pennsylvania lockdown orders are unconstitutional. Again, this makes it more likely the ruling will withstand appeal — applying the lesser standard and still finding unconstitutionality.
This really should be the model opinion for courts across the nation. It is thorough and well-reasoned. I expect to see it cited frequently in other decisions. Bravo!
Next comes lawsuit re Ohio against Dewine (sp).. Border is less than five miles away from me. Am SO ENCOURAGED that humans are fighting BACK, BACK, BACK, against yet another COWARD. that finds his personal safety in towing the CCP disease line. And I especially despise him because he tested “positive” to CCP to evade a meeting with Pres Trump, but was tested negative hours later. COWARD!
I took those conflicting test results as proof that all of the tests are totally unreliable. Was it all fake?