GAYLORD — Was there a proper legal basis for the public health orders used by the Northwest Michigan Health Department several years ago to reduce the spread of COVID-19?
That's the case Tuesday, filed in Otsego County Circuit Court by Ian Murphy, owner of the Iron Pig Smokehouse restaurant in Gaylord. This is what was claimed.
At issue is the Department of Health's enforcement of the state's emergency public health order, which resulted in the temporary revocation of Iron Pig's liquor license, food permit, and closure for part of the COVID-19 period. It was fined for remaining open and serving customers, and was eventually forced to close. 19 pandemic.
David Delaney, representing Murphy, and Matthew Cross, appearing on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services (HDNW), delved into the legal issues and theories raised by the lawsuit.
more:Iron Pig's owner, health department plans to argue legal basis for coronavirus restrictions
Mr. Delaney focused on the so-called “non-delegation doctrine.” He said state legislatures make laws because the executive and judicial branches are limited to enforcing and interpreting laws, respectively.
Delaney said the state constitution maintains a “strict separation of powers” approach and the emergency order HDNW relied on failed constitutional review because there was no Lansing vote.
“The legislature enacts laws because it is accountable to the people,” he said.
Delaney questioned the broad scope of the state's public health emergency order, which lacks signposts and checkpoints, noting that the order resulted in mask mandates and forced closures of schools, businesses and other activities. I threw it.
For example, Delaney said the order does not specify what constitutes a communicable disease, so the health department could label obesity or vaping as epidemics and restrict people from gathering. .
At one point, Mr. Hunter forced Mr. Delaney to acknowledge that there could be some degree of power sharing between the three departments, as long as reasonable discretion is exercised, such as under the Emergency Management Act, which lasts 28 days.
Cross said the case represents “a policy disagreement that the plaintiff (Murphy) is trying to make constitutional.”
While Cross acknowledges there may be ambiguity in the definition of an epidemic, he believes the definition found in most dictionaries is sufficient. According to Merriam-Webster, an epidemic is defined as an outbreak of a disease that spreads rapidly and affects many people at the same time.
He argued that it is the responsibility of the legislature to enact laws, but that it cannot always enact laws without some omission. Several issues will emerge after the law is enacted, and the lines between the three branches of government will need to be blurred to some extent to address these gaps and “account for the complexity of infectious diseases.”
Cross believes flexibility is needed to deal with the spread of a highly contagious disease like COVID-19. He also questioned whether the non-delegation principle could be applied to local health departments.
subscribeCheck out the latest offers and read local news that matters to you
more:Judge: Grounds for emergency order restricting bars, restaurants cannot pass constitutional assembly
Hunter described the case as an important one and declined to give a specific date for a decision.
As COVID-19 cases rise in Michigan, Hunter faces a $5,000 fine against Iron Pig and Murphy in 2022 for failing to comply with orders suspending indoor dining in 2020 and 2021. canceled the fine. Hunter said some of the public health laws used to issue the order were unconstitutional.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
