With President Donald Trump out of the way, blue-state leaders who made it their months-long mission to inflict pain on constituents are now seeking to backtrack as fast as possible.
For New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who frequently targeted Orthodox Jewish communities as part of his coronavirus lockdowns, that meant begging the federal district court to deal him a legal defeat, noted religious-freedom watchdog Becket Law.
Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto, a George W. Bush appointee, was happy to comply with Cuomo’s recent request for an injunction against Executive Order 202.68, which sets a maximum occupancy of 10 people or 25% (“whichever is fewer”) on houses of worship in state-designated “red” or “orange” zones.
With several major court losses already on the books, Cuomo ‘s scandal-plagued administration has little to gain now in defending the order, said Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, in a press release.
“It’s not every day you see a Governor beg a federal district court ‘Stop me before I discriminate again!’ but that is exactly what Governor Cuomo asked for,” Rassbach said.
“The Governor is desperately trying to avoid testimony showing that his orders shutting down synagogues and churches weren’t based on public health, but on politics,” he continued.
Cuomo issued the order on Oct. 6 of last year and has since extended the restrictions five times, with the most recent set to expire on Feb. 26.
Already, he has faced a defeat at the Supreme Court over his efforts to implement it, as well as severe criticism from within his own administration.
“[J]ust days ago, a New York Times exposé revealed that nine top New York State health officials resigned after Cuomo told doctors to make up scientific justifications for his COVID lockdown orders,” said Becket’s press release.
The case would likely result in Howard Zucker, New York’s commissioner of health, being called to the stand, where he might reveal even more damaging information during examination.
It isn’t the first time in recent memory that the state has had to backpedal on its overreach in order to avoid a legal smack-down.
New York City lawmakers last year had to scramble to change their laws to avoid a 2nd Amendment challenge brought by the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association that attempted to prevent gun owners from transporting their firearms.
