County, nonprofit dispute whether private citizens can enforce federal statute
May 7, 2021 | 9:24 pm
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A lawsuit claiming Montgomery County’s distribution of COVID-19 relief money to immigrants living in the country illegally was argued in a federal appeals court this week.
The federal lawsuit, which the nonprofit group Judicial Watch filed in May 2020, seeks to prevent the county from distributing millions in financial assistance to low-income residents who do not have legal status.
The lawsuit argues that doing so would violate federal law because it was not approved by the state legislature.
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit on behalf of Montgomery County residents Sharon Bauer and Richard Jurgena. The defendants are County Executive Marc Elrich and Raymond Crowel, director of the county’s Department of Health and Human Services.
Challenge prompts court to take another look at Maryland beach’s topless ban
Updated May 06, 2021;
RICHMOND, Va. A ban on bare-chested women at the beach in Ocean City, Maryland, violates the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and should be overturned, advocates argued to a federal appeals court.
The Washington Post reports that the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing a ruling last year that upheld Ocean City’s ordinance barring women, but not men, from going topless at the beach to protect “public sensibilities.”
During oral arguments Wednesday, Chief Judge Roger Gregory expressed skepticism about Ocean City’s rationale for the measure. Gregory asked how many calls town officials received complaining about the possibility of women going topless, and noted that the ordinance was passed after an inquiry to police about what would happen if women “expressed their freedom in this manner on the beach.”
Credit: (Photo by Clara Margais/picture alliance via Getty Images)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A ban on bare-chested women at the beach in Ocean City, Maryland, violates the Constitution s guarantee of equal protection and should be overturned, advocates argued to a federal appeals court.
The Washington Post reports that the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing a ruling last year that upheld Ocean City s ordinance barring women, but not men, from going topless at the beach to protect “public sensibilities.”
During oral arguments Wednesday, Chief Judge Roger Gregory expressed skepticism about Ocean City’s rationale for the measure. Gregory asked how many calls town officials received complaining about the possibility of women going topless, and noted that the ordinance was passed after an inquiry to police about what would happen if women “expressed the
OCEAN CITY, Md. The topics of gender equality and moral sensibility were up for debate Wednesday in federal court as Ocean City and five women argued over the constitutionality of the town s 2017 topless ban.
Lawyers for both sides in Ocean City s ongoing topless lawsuit went before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to make their cases.
In August 2017, Ocean City passed an ordinance that banned only women, and not men, from exposing their breasts in public. The legislation was in reaction to inquiries Chelsea Eline, who stated in August 2016 that she wanted to go topless in Ocean City.
Court hears challenge to topless ban at Ocean City baltimoresun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from baltimoresun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.