Federal judge blocks enforcement of Kentucky Gov. Beshear’s COVID-19 travel ban
A federal judge in Kentucky granted a preliminary injunction Monday to block Gov. Andy Beshear from enforcing travel bans he put in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman granted the preliminary injunction in the case of a lawsuit filed on April 14 by a group of people who attended an Easter service at Maryville Baptist Church near Louisville. The lawsuit accuses Beshear of violating constitutional rights with his COVID-19 orders restricting out of state travel and prohibiting in-person church services within his ban on mass gatherings.
Bertelsman’s injunction Monday “restrains and enjoins” Beshear from enforcing his executive order that instructs Kentuckians not to travel out of state. The injunction will remain in place pending further orders from the court.
Beshear had allowed travel required by employment or a court order and out of state travel to get supplies, to care for the vulnerable or to see a healthcare provider.
Beshear’s order also called for people coming into Kentucky from another state to quarantine for 14 days.
Bertelsman’s injuction also blocked Beshear from enforcing a portion of another executive order that also addressed out of state travel.
“After careful review, the Court concludes that the Travel Ban does not pass constitutional muster,” Bertelsman wrote in an opinion accompanying his order Monday. “The restrictions infringe on the basic right of citizens to engage in interstate travel, and they carry with them criminal penalties.”
A separate lawsuit filed against Beshear had requested a preliminary injunction to block Beshear’s enforcement of the same orders, but that motion had not yet been granted or denied as of Monday, according to court records. U.S. District Judge Gregory F. VanTatenhove is presiding over that case, which was filed in Frankfort on April 2.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron was originally a defendant in the lawsuit filed on April 2, but later filed a motion to realign himself with the plaintiffs because he agreed that the travel ban was unconstitutional.
This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 7:52 PM.
