Public Health Authority
Case Updates
May 20, 2022
Case updates this week:

Wednesday, 5/18: Florida’s surgeon general asked the Eleventh Circuit to reinstate its vaccine passport ban. Last August, a federal judge sided with Norwegian Cruise Lines and enjoined the ban, finding it in violation of the cruise line’s First Amendment rights.

Wednesday, 5/18: A Louisiana appellate court ruled that the City of Shreveport must pay $36,000 to four businesses for legal fees they accrued when successfully suing the mayor over a mask mandate.

Tuesday, 5/17: A Missouri court heard motions to dismiss Attorney General Schmitt’s lawsuit against Columbia Public Schools for its mask mandate. Schmitt’s office said it is preparing for new lawsuits if school districts reinstate orders.

Monday, 5/16: The Eighth Circuit lifted an injunction on an Iowa law banning mask mandates in schools. The court vacated it as moot due to lower COVID-19 transmission rates.
This newsletter is distributed by Public Health Law Watch as part of Act for Public Health, a working group of the Public Health Law Partnership that is convening to provide law and policy research, analysis, and expertise in support of public health authority.
The Public Health Law Partnership includes organizations with decades of experience in public health law, authority, and governance, including ChangeLab Solutions, the Network for Public Health Law, the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University, the Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, and Public Health Law Watch, a George Consortium initiative housed at the Center for Health Policy and Law at Northeastern University.