Amistad Project to court: Don’t let Gov. Wolf keep breaking the law

Filing accuses Wolf of using procedural gimmick to circumvent ruling striking down mask mandate

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania/November 12, 2021 – The Amistad Project announced today that it has filed a motion to overturn the automatic stay that was placed on the court ruling voiding the statewide school mask mandate in Pennsylvania.

“Gov. Wolf is bound and determined to force kids to mask up, with no regard for the rule of law,” said Phill Kline, director of The Amistad Project. “The court ruled that his mask mandate was unlawful from the moment it was issued, and should not allow him to use a procedural loophole to keep an unlawful order in effect.”

“The governor knew his appeal would trigger an automatic stay under procedural rules, even though that means forcing Pennsylvania school children to abide by an unlawful order,” said Tom King, lead attorney for Dillon, McCandless, King, Coulter, & Graham LLP.

DETAILS:

On November 10, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of The Amistad Project’s lawsuit against Pennsylvania’s school mask mandate, ruling that the order was void ab initio. The Wolf administration immediately appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and under the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure the appeal triggered an automatic stay of the ruling. The Amistad Project is now filing a motion to vacate the stay on the grounds that the petitioners in the original case – parents of school children and multiple private schools and public school districts – will suffer irreparable harm if the unlawful mask mandate is allowed to remain in effect.

REF: Case No. 294 M.D. 2021

For more information about The Amistad Project, please visit www.theamistadproject.org.

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