A federal judge in New Orleans rejects a request by ten southeast Louisiana bar owners to stop the statewide order closing bars.
Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino says this is what he expected out of the federal court because the standard of review for public health declarations is highly deferential to local authorities.
“Judges don’t want to make policy hey want to make sure that policymakers like the Governor and the Legislature are exercising their rulemaking power within the bounds of the constitution,” says Ciolino.
The bar owners argued that shutting down bars violated equal protection under the constitution and that they did not receive due process.
State officials presented data showing the closure of bars in Louisiana helped slow the spread of coronavirus. Ciolino says that’s all Judge Martin Feldman needed.
“Here the constitution allows public health regulations as long as there is any rational basis for them. They cannot be arbitrary and they cannot be vague but if there is a rational basis for them the courts are going to uphold them,” says Ciolino.
It’s another in a string of losses for those challenging things like the mask mandate or bar closures in court. Ciolino says the only recourse frustrated Louisianans have at this point is at the ballot box.
A similar case is being decided in a Lafayette US District Court. It is not currently known when Judge Robert Summerhays will make a ruling.
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