Hogan Administration Sued Over Stay-At-Home Order: MD Coronavirus

MARYLAND — A group of Republican state lawmakers, religious leaders, and business owners are suing Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan over the constitutionality of his stay-at-home order.

Dels. Warren Miller, Dan Cox, and Neil Parrott are among the 18 named plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit brought against the Hogan administration.

In the lawsuit filed on Saturday, the plaintiffs allege that their right to free speech and assembly have been violated — and that businesses have suffered economic injury because of Hogan's stay-at-home order.

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"A great object of our Union has been to uniformly advance and protect both the personal rights of individuals and of commerce, while not hindering the states from advancing those same rights at equal or greater pace," the suit reads. "The object has never been to permit a Governor to make a 'neighbor's' rights or interests in health superior to the People's or even to another citizen's natural and inalienable rights. The problem in Maryland is that Governor Hogan has done the reverse, even after being repeatedly petitioned to limit his power."

In mid-April, Marylanders drove around downtown Annapolis, honking their horns and holding up signs in protest of Hogan's stay-at-home order. The protest — dubbed Operation Gridlock Annapolis — was organized by Reopen Maryland, an organization also listed as one of the plaintiffs in the suit. A second rally was held on Saturday.

Hogan, a Republican, addressed the pressures he faced to reopen Maryland on CNN's State of the Union" on Sunday.

"I think everybody has a right to protest and express their feelings. A couple of dozen people did so yesterday and they have every right to do that," Hogan told CNN's Jake Tapper. "Sadly, we had far more people die yesterday in Maryland than we had protesters."

On Saturday, the Maryland Department of Health reported 24,473 coronavirus cases and 1,156 deaths. That's an increase of 6,707 cases — or 37.7 percent — in the past week.

The Republican governor said he won't start easing restrictions until there is a decrease in hospitalizations, ICU patients, and deaths from the coronavirus over a 14-day period.

In the court filing, state Del. Cox (R-District 4) said he was scheduled to speak at Reopen Maryland's event on Saturday, but was "warned by a senior law enforcement official that the 'Governor has his sights on you' and that if I attend, ride along and speak at the Reopen Rally, I would potentially be arrested..."

The suit names Hogan, Health Secretary Robert Neall, Deputy Secretary of Public Health Services Frances Phillips, and Maryland State Police Superintendent Woodrow Jones III as its defendants.

Besides the three Republican state delegates, the other plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit include the owner of the Antietam KOA Campground and more than half a dozen Maryland pastors.

The plaintiffs allege that Hogan's administration "disparately and discriminately" chose which businesses are essential and non-essential. Places of worship, they say, don't make the cut.

"Under the Governor's Executive Orders, Lowes and Walmart are permitted to have hundreds of cars and people because the Governor chose them to be 'essential' businesses. However, under the same orders a church may not have anyone in its buildings with limited exceptions for 'virtual' services, and businesses that operate for camping or recreation or other provisions such as hair salons and a myriad of other businesses, are prohibited from even being open," the plaintiffs alleges.

They also said that pastors, priests, churches, and congregations don't all have the resources or equipment to "broadcast their worship services online or conduct parking lot or drive-in services." And if they did, the plaintiffs added, many congregants may not have access to the Internet.

According to the lawsuit, Hogan overstepped his authority by issuing the stay-at-home order.

The measure is intended to slow the spread of the new coronavirus and buy the health care industry more time to find a vaccine or treatment.

Stay-At-Home Order Lawsuit ... by Patch Media on Scribd

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