Missouri Judge Issues Blistering Ruling That Deems Coercive Health Department COVID-19 Measures Illegal

A Missouri judge ruled that public health orders issued by the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) violate the state constitution.

The judge determined coercive COVID-19 measures, such as mask mandates and business closures, infringe upon the constitutional separation of powers.

Thus, public health orders and edicts issued by the health department no longer stand.

Unelected health officials must stop their power grabs and coercion of the public to comply with unconstitutional mandates.

Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled in favor of plaintiffs that filed suit nearly one year ago.

The ruling establishes a critical precedent that DHSS policies instituted by unelected officials cannot abolish representative government.

In other words, a power-hungry bureaucrat cannot close a business or enforce quarantines based on their sole discretion.

Missouri has taken a monumental step towards freedom, and restrictive states should take notice.

Read more about the ruling below:

BREAKING: Today a judge ruled in our favor, effectively ending mask and other mandates in MO once and for all! Early this year, I filed suit against MO DHSS along with @AndStlc and challenged the authority of health depts to create law. It's finally over folks. Freedom wins! 🇺🇲 pic.twitter.com/VU0b5ztjj9

— Ben Brown (@BenBrownTweets) November 23, 2021

A devastating decision from Missouri declaring all coercive Covid measures to be illegal. https://t.co/BT5JMANM5a

— Jeffrey A Tucker (@jeffreyatucker) November 24, 2021

A judge Tuesday ruled local health departments cannot issue orders, close businesses, or quarantine students, ruling parts of Missouri’s Code of State Regulations pertaining to the DHSS violated the state constitution.#JustTheNews https://t.co/Kw7bDI3led

— Just the News (@JustTheNews) November 24, 2021

For example, the terms and conditions of immunity mandates (often erroneously referred to as "vaccine mandates") are created by the legislature, not through executive fiat and certainly not through the unilateral action of university presidents and local school boards.

— Todd Zywicki (@ToddZywicki) November 24, 2021

Green wrote in his ruling that local health officials in Missouri “have grown accustomed to issuing edicts and coercing compliance. It is far past time for this unconstitutional conduct to stop.”https://t.co/9DgsQt5fS8

— Lauren Weber (@LaurenWeberHP) November 23, 2021

In blistering ruling, judge ends all local COVID orders. “This case is about whether…regulations can abolish representative government in the creation of public health laws…on the unfettered opinion of an unelected official. This court finds it cannot.”https://t.co/RCtcaMUHnN pic.twitter.com/xtFJQK4Fx2

— Michael P Senger (@michaelpsenger) November 24, 2021

Just the News shared these details:

In an 18-page judgment, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled in favor of Shannon Robinson, B&R STL and Church of the Word, who filed suit last December. They argued DHSS policies should not be able to “abolish representative government in the creation of public health laws” and “authorize closure of a school or assembly based on the unfettered opinion of an unelected official.”

“This was definitely a line in the sand that I felt needed to be drawn,” said Ben Brown, a plaintiff who’s running for the state Senate seat of Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan. “I understand the reason why you have to have some emergency powers in the case of a natural disaster or some imminent threat. I could see why you should have some laws allowing a period of time for taking quick actions. But when things were drawn out for this long and with the granting of this level of unchecked power, I saw the potential for abuse.”

STRONG AND COURAGEOUS: Your Children Need This…TAP HERE

Green ruled the Director of DHSS or director of a local health agency cannot implement discretionary “control measures” including the “creation and enforcement of orders” affecting individuals, schools, organizations, businesses and other entities. He stated “closing schools and places of public assembly based solely on his/her opinion” wasn’t valid. Green cited cases in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania where judges reached similar conclusions regarding administrative orders created in connection with COVID-19.

Green said the plaintiffs provided “ample evidence” showing public health officials throughout the state used Missouri regulations to “exercise unbridled and unfettered personal authority to in effect, legislate.”

As The Hill noted, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page seemed uneasy about relinquishing the authority:

St. Louis County Executive Sam Page told the council that the mask mandate remain in place, according to the Post-Dispatch. “With winter on its way, people are spending more people inside, where respiratory viruses circulate more easily,” he said.

It is uncertain if the ruling will be appealed, but for now, the health departments must respect the ruling as law, the Post-Dispatch noted.

Read the entire 18-page ruling here.