The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Pennsylvania
- Level
- Court
- Authority
- King's Bench jurisdiction, 42 Pa.C.S. sec. 502; 35 Pa.C.S. secs. 7301, 7501; the police power
- Issued
- 2020-04-13 Apr. 13, 2020
- Effective
- 2020-04-13 (relief denied; the Mar. 19, 2020 closure order remained in force) (read as 2020-04-13)
- End
- n/a (read as 2021-09-30)
- In force
- Apr. 13, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Stay-at-homeBusiness closureOther
- Addressees
- every business in the Commonwealth subject to the closure and stay-at-home orders; the Governor and the Secretary of Health
- Character
- adjudication
- Collection
- Standing duties: Pennsylvania DUT-PA
Operative words
the policy choice in this emergency was for the Governor and the Secretary to make and so long as the means chosen to meet the emergency are reasonably necessary..., it is supported by the police power. The choice made by the Respondents was tailored to the nature of the emergency and utilized a recognized tool, business closures, to enforce social distancing
Penalty
What it required
Held that the COVID-19 pandemic is a 'disaster' under the Emergency Management Services Code, that the Governor's Mar. 19, 2020 order closing all non-life-sustaining businesses was authorized by 35 Pa.C.S. sec. 7301 and supported by the police power, and rejected the separation-of-powers, takings, due process, equal protection and free-speech challenges; the Court stated that under the Code 'the Governor has the authority to issue executive orders and proclamations which shall have the full force of law. 35 Pa.C.S. sec. 7301(b).' Character as recorded: adjudication (order_penalty layer).
Retrieval noteThe majority opinion is 1,837 text lines; the passage quoted is at the Court's discussion of the police power (slip op. at 33-34) and the sec. 7301(b) statement is at slip op. at 36. The Commonwealth Court's contrary reasoning in County of Butler v. Wolf (PA-090) was vacated as moot by the Third Circuit (PA-104).