Auubrey Sparks, the ACLU-WV legal director, says they support their claim against the state on Wednesday in front of the Kanawha County Judge Kenneth Ballard. The judge dismissed the claim for procedural reasons. (Lori Kersey | Western Virginia Clock)
The Kanawha County Judge rejected the legal actions submitted to the State Department of Health due to his compliance with the Chief Patrick Morrisey Executive Order, which requires him to release religious exceptions to state school vaccinations.
County Judge Kenneth Ballard dismissed the claims filed by the plaintiffs, filed by the Western Virginia Virginia and Mountain State Justice American Civil Liberty Union for procedural reasons without examining the merits of the case. He agreed with a lawyer representing the state that the ACLU did not meet the requirement to inform the state 30 days before the claim.
“I think I’m banned from jurisdiction,” Ballard said Wednesday. “I think the petitioners’ submissions could not be satisfied here Western Virginia Code 55-17-3 which requires… 30 days message or forbidden relief. ‘
The judge stated that the ACLU’s complaint and arguments had made a letter from Mandam in a little discussion of the application for prohibiting the court.
“I don’t think you have been looking for the facility of this insurance properly, I think you only made it at the end, trying to get around this rule,” Ballard said.
ACLU and Mountain State Judge submitted Court action on May 23 Before the State Department of Health Marisa Jackson from Kanawha County and dr. Joshua Hess from Cabell County. Jackson and Hess are both parents of weakened students. Hess is also a pediatric hematologist and oncologist practicing Marshall Health Cabell Huntington Hospital.
The petition asked the court to force the State Health and Bureau Department to cease to comply with the public health order, which requires the state to allow religious exceptions to the vaccine requirements.
The state is one of five in the country that prevented religious or philosophical exceptions needed for vaccines.
Despite Morrisey Executive Order, the Publisher of State Laws voted at the beginning of this year Senate Bill 460who would have established those religious exceptions in state law.
The State Education Council recently voted to direct the county education council to prevent religious exceptions. During the individual legal actions, the father of the Raleigh County, whose child was declared a religious exception that the Department of Health applies to the court for state and county school councils to not adopt an exception. The hearing is scheduled for a Raleigh County application on Thursday.
On behalf of the state, lawyer Holly Wilson said the case could be dismissed for “many reasons”, including the fact that the plaintiffs did not offer a notice for the pre -bid or did not satisfy the burden to show.
“But if this court decides that he wants to achieve merit or that he should achieve his merits, the petitioners lose,” she said. “They cannot show a clear legal right. They cannot show legal duty and certainly cannot show a legal duty that is not discreet.”
The state and Morrisey argue that state vaccination laws related to 2023 Requires the state to allow religious exceptions to protect the Law on Religion.
Auubrey Sparks, ACLU Legal Director, said the ACLU was not required to report to the state of 30 days of exception in the law when the parties were asking for a prohibition.
Ballard dismissed the case without prejudice, which means that the ACLU can reuse the claim.
Sparks told reporters after Wednesday that it is too early to tell if it would do so.
“This is an open question about what our other steps are, because I know there are many other lawsuits waiting for the matter,” the Spark said. “We want to understand what happens in them, but basically we feel that what the state is doing here is illegal. But then not that, in this case, the state in this case is so very unconstitutional that we all care about.
“They functionally entered this courtroom and said that the governor’s act could simply swip any law unilaterally from the table, which he thinks can complicate someone’s religious exercises, and it is simply not supported and not allowed under our Constitution.”
On Wednesday’s social media platform record, Morrisey called the “first fighting fight” by a referee.
“However, the end result resolved by the litigation or the change in the statute is not doubtful,” he said. “Western Virginia is a radical side when it comes to severe vaccine powers-one of only 5 states of the nation without law-based, religious exception. We have an EO based on the Law on Freedom of our State, which is very strong and must be given to meaning. Unfortunately, the State School Council ignores this important law
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