Last week, the State of Alabama scored a victory after Montgomery County Circuit Judge Greg Griffin dismissed a lawsuit filed by three Jackson County residents challenging the State’s authority to mandate masks during the COVID-19 state of emergency declared by Gov. Kay Ivey.
During an interview with Birmingham radio Talk 99.5’s “Matt & Aunie Show,” Attorney General Steve Marshall acknowledged the judge’s decision and said he believed the State had the authority to act to respond to the threat of the pandemic. However, he said it was not a limitless power.
According to Marshall, the emergency powers came down to whether or not they were still needed, given the severity of the emergency, and if the use of the power was directly tied to the emergency.
“[I]t really comes in two areas,” Marshall said. “One — there’s a point in time in which the state of emergency won’t exist. That becomes a fact-dependent question, particularly here as we continue to look at death rates, we continue to look at infection rates, we look at hospital utilization. And if those continue to come down, there is a point in time which an emergency no longer exists.”
“The other thing you would look at — even when there is an emergency, is the use of that authority tailored to deal with that emergency situation?” he continued. “So for example, if tomorrow Governor Ivey said that I’m declaring a state of emergency and we’re going to make the speed limit 35 miles an hour on [U.S. Highway] 280. Well, clearly, that is not connected to concerns about a pandemic. And so, I think both of those areas will continue to be looked at as we go forward to make sure that — it kind of goes back to our initial concern about the Birmingham mask ordinance, where it was so broad, the enforcement of it we thought could be potentially unconstitutional. For example, in an unoccupied building where you are by yourself in your own office. You don’t have to wear a mask to protect yourself from somebody else.”
“We continue to evaluate and advise that there has to be that direct nexus between the problem and what we’re trying to protect,” Marshall added. “And that has always got to be paramount in those decisions where lawmakers and the governor as they move forward.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.
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