Colorado Supreme Court Declines To Hear GOP Pandemic Suit
DENVER (AP/CBS4) — Colorado's Supreme Court has declined to hear a lawsuit challenging a mask-wearing order and other measures by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis intended to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
The Colorado Sun reported that the court refused to take on the case on Friday.
Republican Rep. Patrick Neville, the state House minority leader, and conservative activist Michelle Malkin argued that Polis violated the state Constitution's separation of powers provisions and stripped the Legislature of its lawmaking role by declaring a public emergency that enabled him to issue executive orders to confront the pandemic.
They sought to overturn several orders, including a state mandate requiring the mask-wearing in certain public spaces. Federal and state health officials encourage the use of masks to slow the transmission of the virus.
The lawsuit noted that the plaintiffs would refile in a lower court, federal court or both if the Supreme Court refused to hear it.
Polis said the lawsuit placed Neville and Malkin "on the side of a deadly virus that has taken the lives of too many friends, parents, and loved ones."
More than 56,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in Colorado and there have been more than 1,900 deaths.
Polis released a statement on Friday, "I'm glad the Supreme Court stands with the people of Colorado in our fight against the deadly virus, in which mask-wearing is one of our most effective weapons."
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)