Governor Authorized to Issue COVID-19 Emergency Orders, Mass. High Court Rules

BOSTON — Massachusetts’ highest court has ruled that the governor’s issuance of a series of “safer at home” orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic did not violate citizens’ constitutional rights to procedural and substantive due process or free assembly.

In a Dec. 10 opinion, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concluded that the Massachusetts Civil Defense Act (CDA) gave Governor Charles Baker authority to issue the orders because the COVID-19 pandemic “has created a situation that cannot be addressed solely at the local level” and “requires the coordination and resources available under the CDA.”

“The emergency orders, and the regulations …