Judge Thomas Moukawsher has issued a ruling in the Connecticut school mask lawsuit that contains a strong rebuke of the notion that the Governor can exercise unilateral executive authority, even during a pandemic, that continues indefinitely and without legislative oversight. This could have huge implications that stretch far beyond masks in schools. The 36-page decision examines the long and sordid history of tyrannical rulers exploiting emergencies to gain greater power and further oppress their people.

Although he stops short of granting the CT Freedom Alliance the full relief they are seeking (i.e., a disposal of the school mask mandate), the decision is in many respects a breath of fresh air. Judge Moukawsher realizes the very real danger of history repeating itself in present-day Connecticut and America, remarking that “… American law has bent far too low in lesser winds. Far lesser crises have seen us toss aside until better times the legal values we claim to hold most dear. And if we enjoy our rights only in better times, they aren’t doing us much good. … It’s only when leaders evolve into masters and masters transform into tyrants that we regret losing the means to keep them in check in the ways enshrined in our founding legal documents. And by then it is too late.” Read the full decision here.

The CT Freedom Alliance has appealed this decision directly to the CT Supreme Court seeking a final decision affirming that the Governor has exceeded his Constitutional authority, and for a reversal of the trial court’s ruling that the mask mandate did not infringe upon the children’s fundamental right to an education. Please help them finish the important work they have started by making a contribution to the CT school mask lawsuit legal fundraiser today!