Gov. Charlie Baker's extensive, executive order-fueled pandemic response is justifiable under state law and did not violate the constitutional rights of businesses and organizations affected by mandatory shutdowns, the state's highest court ruled Thursday.
Six months after the New Civil Liberties Alliance sued Massachusetts on behalf of business owners and religious institutions, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the Baker Administration's emergency actions, concluding that the governor acted within the emergency powers afforded to governors under a 1950 law.
The consequential decision allows the state's COVID-19 strategy to continue along its current trajectory, avoiding a sudden and dramatic shift in how leaders approach the public health emergency amid rapid transmission of the highly infectious virus and dwindling hospital capacity.