Roberts Holds Line on Judicial Second-Guessing of Covid Orders
The U.S. Supreme Court hasn t shown much willingness during the Covid pandemic to second-guess emergency orders issued by public officials.
In approximately two dozen emergency requests received by the justices challenging federal, state, or local orders, Bloomberg Law found that the conservative-majority court has favored Democratic and Republican-led governments in all of them, save a procedural defeat that the Trump administration eventually won.
The justices have across the board upheld rules aimed at protecting public health during the pandemic, even if the rules limit freedoms. They ve sustained restrictions on in-person religious services, turned away groups complaining about business closures, and undone attempts to relax requirements for ballot initiatives to account for social distancing difficulties.
Decisions in cases arising during extraordinary times reflects the cautious ideology of Chief Justice John Roberts. Some broke 5-4 along traditional ideological lines, with conservatives and liberals in dissent. But only Roberts was in the majority in all of them.
Given that emergency orders are the purview of the political branches, Roberts concern for separation of powers means he ll be generally deferential to them, said Charles Thompson, the executive director and general counsel of the International Municipal Lawyers Association.