Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration face yet another COVID-19 backlash lawsuit.
LA County resident Samuel Armstrong filed a class action in the Central District of California, alleging violations of civil rights and the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, which prohibits detention without due process.
“Said residential confinement order is also unconstitutional in that it is vague as to it's scope and duration and appears to permit residents to be released from residential confinement only for the purpose of obtaining food, medication and/or healthcare without objectively specifying the extent a resident may be released from residential confinement to obtain such necessities,” wrote plaintiff’s attorney Rami Kayyali.
In his lawsuit, Armstrong complains that he and others were harmed and sustained damages as a result of Gov. Newsom’s March 19, 2020 Executive Order N-33-20, which confined Californians to their homes under penalty of being convicted of a criminal misdemeanor for which the punishment is a $1,000 fine and/or six months of imprisonment. Armstrong asks the court to enjoin the allegedly unlawful practices and to award damages for each day of unjust confinement.
“A state of emergency supersedes but it's very vague,” said Rex Parris, an attorney and mayor of Lancaster. “We're all very unclear as to just how much a state of emergency supersedes constitution and statutory protections.”
Armstrong’s complaint is one of some 25 lawsuits filed against Gov. Newsom since a declaration of emergency was put in place on March 4.
“Oftentimes, you can be technically correct in regards to what the law is but social policies will outweigh it and judges just ignore the law and make a ruling they think is right,” Parris told the Southern California Record. “That is not uncommon. You can appeal it and hope that reason will prevail but there’s not a lot of hope. The court is really just another legislature where there's no recourse. There should be justice. But in my experience, it's rare. Our justice system is largely an illusion that keeps people from rebelling.”
As of May 30, there were 106,787 coronavirus cases statewide and 4,156 deaths, according to the Department of Health.
The number of coronavirus cases is likely to work in favor of Gov. Newsom, according to Mayor Parris.
“From a class action point of view, it's unlikely to be successful because the damages are so different,” Parris said. “There has to be a commonality and typicality. You need common claims and the damages have to be typical throughout the class and I think it would be hard to demonstrate. It's possible but not easy."