In the filing last Thursday at the 1st District Court of Appeal, attorneys for Alachua County argued that the panel’s ruling this month should be reconsidered because the case is moot. Along with DeSantis in early May blocking local mask mandates, the Legislature passed a measure (SB 2006) that places sharp restrictions on local emergency orders. That measure will take effect Thursday.
Alachua County is asking for a rehearing before the three-judge panel or a hearing by the full Tallahassee-based court.
“(Shortly) before the panel’s opinions were issued, the Legislature dealt with the issue raised in this appeal. Since the issue has been dealt with legislatively, the panel should grant rehearing and dismiss the appeal as moot because ‘constitutional questions will be decided by a court only when it is necessary to the disposition of the case,’” the motion for rehearing said, partially quoting from a court precedent.