‘Null And Void’: Judge Overturns All Of Oregon Gov Brown’s COVID-19 Executive Orders

A judge granted a preliminary injunction Monday freezing all of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s coronavirus executive orders restricting church services and business, media reports show.

Brown exceeded her authority when she restricted activities for longer than the 28 days the governor is authorized under state law, Baker County Circuit Court Judge Matt Shirtcliff said. The judge’s ruling effectively blocks enforcement of the 10 orders Brown gave since early March when she first imposed stay-at-home orders on citizens.

Shirtcliff’s decision comes after Elkhorn Baptist Church of Baker City filed a lawsuit challenging the duration of the governor’s legal authority. Salem attorney Ray Hacke of the Pacific Justice Institute, a nonprofit group that protects religious liberties.

Bill Harvey, chairman of the Baker County Board of Commissioners, filed a lawsuit as a nonparty participant, telling reporter Monday that, “our emphasis was that she (Brown) overstepped her bounds.” He filed as an individual rather than a state official.

Two attorneys with the Oregon Department of Justice requested Shirtcliff to either issue a stay or wait 48 hours before entering his decision into the record, meaning the injunction would not take effect immediately. Shirtcliff denied the requests, saying he would enter his decision immediately.

Brown noted in a press statement Monday that she is appealing the ruling, which applies to the entire state.

“This will ensure we can continue to safeguard the health of all Oregonians — including frontline health care workers, those living in nursing homes, workers in agriculture and food processing plants, and Oregonians with underlying health conditions –– while the legal process moves forward,” the Democratic governor noted.

Brown’s attorneys — Marc Abrams and Christina Beatty-Walters — argued that the governor’s orders were working to limit the spread of coronavirus, which originated in China before going global, killing hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

The “issue is not whether it’s working. It’s whether she has exceeded the limits of her authority,” Hacke countered.

Other state officials have experienced similar pushback.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, for instance, was criticized after implementing strict stay-at-home orders prohibiting citizens from visiting their family and friends, or from holding public and private gatherings of any kind.