The Fiscal Alliance Foundation made the following statement today in response to the New Civil Liberties Alliance filing of a Supplemental Notice of Pertinent and Significant Authorities in the case Desrosiers v. Baker.

The notice was filed following the outcomes of two similar court cases, one in Pennsylvania and the other in Michigan, which saw courts strike down comparable COVID-19 emergency orders. A full copy of the notice is available here.

“After seven months of “temporary” emergency orders in Massachusetts, these rulings have given hope to the many struggling families and small businesses of the Commonwealth. Across the country, we are seeing the beginnings of a definite trend towards restoring the rule of law. If measures of this magnitude are still required going forward, it is incumbent upon state legislatures to do their jobs and deliberate going forward. We hope the SJC will take note before they rule on the Desrosiers case,” Danielle Webb, Esq, Chair of Fiscal Alliance Foundation.

“With no end in sight to the Civil Defense State of Emergency nor indication that Governor Baker will be loosening his grip on the legislature’s police power, I hope the Supreme Judicial Court will take notice of an emerging trend across the country. More and more courts are defending state and federal constitutions and restoring civil liberties lost under the guise of ‘temporary’ emergency gubernatorial action. This is a heartening trend that the SJC could—and should—further in Massachusetts,” said NCLA Senior Counsel Michael DeGrandis in a statement.