(MENAFN- PR Newswire) PHILADELPHIA, July 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In a dramatic Third Circuit Court hearing in which Governor Wolf defended his use of police powers to strip Pennsylvanians' constitutional rights, the plaintiff's attorneys argued strongly in a case that they won previously at the federal district court level.
The case, County of Butler, et al v. Thomas W. Wolf, et al., was filed last year in the wake of the COVID crisis after local business owners who were devastated by the unlawful COVID lockdowns challenged Governor Wolf's executive overreach and abuse of police powers.
The case was originally heard before the United States Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, with Judge William S. Stickman IV issuing a devastating decision declaring Governor Wolf's actions unconstitutional. "Even in an emergency, the authority of government is not unfettered," Stickland wrote in his opinion. "The constitution cannot accept the concept of a 'new normal' where the basic liberties of the people can be subordinated to open-ended emergency mitigation measures," he wrote.
"We are proud to have stood before the Court today defending the Constitution and the constitutional rights of all Americans," said Thomas W. King of Dillon McCandless King Coulter & Graham, lead attorney for the plaintiffs.
"The is the most significant case related to the COVID lockdowns and whether or not they are constitutional," said Phill Kline, Director of the Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society, which is supporting the litigation. "Governor Wolf's exertion of police powers cost thousands of Pennsylvanians their jobs, livelihoods, dignity, and freedom," he said.
"Wolf's actions mirrored those of other blue state executives who used emergency orders combined with the acceptance of hundreds of millions of dollars of Zuckerberg monies to weaken election security, undermine election integrity, and subvert the constitutional authority of the legislative and judicial branches of government," Kline continued.
"Wolf's unconstitutional actions were part of a designed, nationwide strategy to undermine the 2020 election, favoring urban districts over rural districts and Democratic voters over Republican voters," he said.
Nancy Gifford of Double Image Styling Salon, one of the plaintiffs, stressed the importance of the case. "Governor Wolf overreached in his use of police powers," Gifford said. "This case is about protecting the rights of everyday Pennsylvanians and business owners across the state," she said.
Pennsylvania State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, also a plaintiff in the case, thanked the Amistad Project for its support in the case. "I appreciate the Thomas More Society's Amistad Project's support of our legal fight to stop this tyrannical abuse of power from ever happening again in America," Metcalfe said.
REF. CASE: 2:20-cv-00677-WSS
For more information on the Amistad Project go to:
SOURCE Amistad Project
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