THE MASSACHUSETTS Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled on Thursday that Gov. Charlie Baker’s various COVID-19 orders were authorized by the Massachusetts Civil Defense Act of 1950, and did not violate the plaintiffs’ due process rights or right to assemble under either the state or federal constitutions. The court’s opinion is superficial and poorly reasoned at […]
David R Geiger
Posted inOpinion
SJC off base on Baker’s emergency powers
DURING LAST WEEK’S Supreme Judicial Court hearing on the lawsuit challenging Gov. Charlie Baker’s COVID-19 emergency declaration and orders, several justices appeared receptive to the argument that the governor’s declaration was authorized by the Civil Defense Act of 1950. It is difficult to imagine how any intellectually honest analysis could yield that result. Much of […]
Posted inOpinion
Governor’s COVID-19 orders are unconstitutional
WHILE UNDOUBTEDLY well-intentioned, Gov. Charlie Baker’s orders purporting to regulate Massachusetts businesses and individuals in response to COVID-19 are unconstitutional, unscientific, and destructive. The animating principle of our nation is the maximal safeguarding of human liberty. The Declaration of Independence proclaims that the rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” are “unalienable,” and […]