NYS Supreme Court Judge Rules State Mask Mandate ‘Unconstitutional’

Yesterday, New York State Supreme Court Judge Thomas Rademaker has ruled Governor Kathy Hochul’s mask mandate unconstitutional. In his decision, Judge Rademaker says that ‘either the governor nor the state health commissioner have the authority to impose the mask mandate and state legislature would have to approve specific laws to require masks in schools and certain public places.’

The mask mandate was initiated back in December due to New York State’s surge in COVID cases due to the omicron variant. In hearing of this ruling, Governor Hochul stated; “My responsibility as Governor is to protect New Yorkers throughout this public health crisis, and these measures help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. We strongly disagree with this ruling, and we are pursuing every option to reverse this immediately.”

Source: 13 WHAM