COVID: LEGAL CHALLENGES

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said at a meeting last Thursday the coronavirus outbreak has “served as a sort of constitutional stress test” that resulted in “previously unimaginable” limits on personal freedoms, according to a report.
Reuters reported that Alito, who was addressing a meeting at the Federalist Society, questioned some of the restrictions that have been implemented by politicians. “I think of worship services,” he said. “Churches closed on Easter Sunday, synagogues closed for Passover in Yom Kippur. It pains me to say this, but in certain quarters, religious liberty is fast becoming a disfavored right.”
He warned that the First Amendment, which grants the freedom of speech, seems to be “falling out of favor in some circles.” He said, “We need to do whatever we can to prevent it from becoming a second-tier constitutional right.”
State and local governments across the U.S. have faced legal challenges from religious and business leaders who bristle at coronavirus mandates they say are arbitrary and ineffective.
Last Friday, the Eighth District Court of Appeals sided with restaurant owners in El Paso, Texas, who sued the county after its chief administrator ordered the shutdown of all non-essential businesses late last month.
These business owners, joined in the suit by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, said El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego’s COVID guidelines far exceeded the ones put in place by Governor Greg Abbot, a Republican. NBC reported that Paxton called Samaniego a “tyrant.”
Governor Andy Beshaer, the Kentucky Democrat, scored a legal victory last Thursday when the state’s supreme court ruled he did not overstep his authority when he ordered the new coronavirus mandates.
Business owners in San Diego have sued California and the county over new virus restrictions and say the recent increase of cases in the state has nothing to do with their operations.
Fox 5 San Diego reported the lawsuit includes four restaurants and gyms and was filed in San Diego Superior Court. These businesses say another forced shutdown would permanently destroy their businesses.
TRENDPOST: Politicians seem to love taking the “Do as I say, not as I do” approach.
Back in July, conservatives in the media called out the dozens of members of Congress who attended Republican John Lewis’ funeral in Georgia. They pointed out that any travel to the Peach State would require members of Congress to self-quarantine for 14 days in Washington, D.C.  
But these congress members were exempt, according to a spokeswoman from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office. The spokeswoman told JustTheNews.com that “government activity is essential, and the Capitol of the United States is exempt from the Mayor’s Order.” 
Days before Chicago’s Governor Lightfoot ordered new lockdown orders for the city, she was spotted in the middle of a crowd celebrating Joe Biden’s apparent presidential victory. She responded to the criticism, “Mask compliance in our city is actually up very, very high. There are times when we actually do need to have relief and come together, and I felt like that was one of those times. That crowd was gathered whether I was there or not.” 
Most recently, it was Governor Gavin Newsom, the California Democrat, who was caught skirting his own guidelines. Newsom attended a birthday party at an exclusive restaurant in his state earlier this month. Newsom has been one of the most outspoken critics of those breaking social-distancing orders.  
He released a statement, “While our family followed the restaurant’s health protocols and took safety precautions, we should have modeled better behavior and not joined the dinner.” 
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, Professor of Public Policy Communication at the University of Southern California, told the AP that Newsom’s taste for fine dining may have cost him credibility if he implements new rules in the future. 
“It was totally unnecessary, he didn’t have to do this,” she said. 
The theory that these restrictions are arbitrary has been one of the key arguments in the anti-lockdown movement. For example, Governor Larry Hogan, the Republican from Maryland, announced new guidelines that limit indoor gatherings to 25 people or fewer. (New York limits these gatherings to no more than ten.) So, which is it? 
But Newsom will survive politically because he is entrenched in California politics. Remember Nancy Pelosi’s famous haircut during San Francisco’s lockdown? We don’t either.  
Americans allow their politicians to live by a certain set of rules while we, the little people of Slavelandia, face jail or fines if we disobey. Indeed, despite Newsom, a Democrat closing down California, the world’s fifth largest economy, the state swung heavily in favor of Joe Biden in The Presidential Reality Show^®.  
The trend will not stop because the media is a willing ally for most politicians in power, and anyone who speaks out against these lockdowns is immediately written off as a fringe nut, conservative, right wing, conspiracy theory Trump supporter.