As we have previously noted, the Kentucky state Supreme Court sided with Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) and agreed that he did have the authority to declare a state of emergency and issue his COVID-19 executive orders. The General Assembly, in which Republicans will have veto-proof margins in the coming session, appears to be ready to limit the Governor’s authority under Kentucky Revised Statutes section 39A, but such action cannot occur before January.

But if the state courts are now foreclosed to challenging the Governor’s actions, the federal courts are not, and two federal judges, in separate cases, granted injunctions prohibiting the Governor from “enforcing the prohibition on mass gatherings with respect to any in-person religious service which adheres to applicable social distancing and hygiene guidelines.” A three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a similar ruling.

The rulings came just two weeks before the Governor was going to graciously allow churches to reopen anyway.

But the Governor has now issued new executive orders:

• All public and private K-12 schools will close to in-person instruction starting November 23, through the end of the semester. The only exception is for elementary schools in counties outside the red zone, which may reopen on December 7 if the school follows all guidelines.

Beginning on November 20 and lasting until December 13:

• All restaurants and bars will close to indoor dining services. Outdoor dining is still allowed, with some limitations.
• Gyms are limited to 33% capacity, and no group classes or indoor games are allowed. Masks are required.
• Indoor gatherings should be limited to two families, not exceeding a total of eight people.
• Attendance at wedding and funerals is limited to 25 people.

So it’s back to the federal courts. From the Lexington Herald-leader:

4 Lexington Christian schools, 5 others in Ky. back lawsuit against Beshear closings

By Valerie Honeycutt Spears | November 23, 2020 | 07:11 AM EST | Updated: 10:27 AM EST

Nine Kentucky Christian schools, including Lexington Christian Academy and three others in Fayette County, filed a brief Sunday night in support of a federal lawsuit against Gov. Andy Beshear‘s order stopping in-person instruction at public and private K-12 schools.

“No evidence whatsoever has linked any current increase in COVID cases to numbers in schools,” said the brief filed in U.S. District Court in Frankfort. Amicus briefs, as they are called, are often filed by those affected by court cases to which they are not parties.

“Because the religious schools believe both in the importance of their mission and the need for in-person instruction to the greatest extent possible, each of the religious schools has taken extraordinary steps and incurred significant financial expense to provide safe in-person learning during this academic year, “ the brief said.

Nevertheless, Beshear added new COVID-19 restrictions last week after the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that he can to protect the health and safety of Kentucky citizens.

Despite that ruling, Danville Christian Academy and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron on Friday filed a federal lawsuit against Beshear, arguing that his order closing Kentucky’s schools, including private religious schools, violates the First Amendment of the Constitution and the state’s Religious Freedom and Restoration Act.

There’s more at the original.

Given Mr Beshear’s penchant for filing lawsuits to try to frustrate Governor Matt Bevin (R-KY) when Mr Beshear was state Attorney General, there’s some delicious schadenfreude that a Republican Attorney General is paying the Governor back in kind.

The obvious question is: how long will it take for these lawsuits to be resolved? Unless the court issues a temporary injunction, something the lawsuit included in its filing, a lawsuit of this nature could easily extend beyond the January 4, 2021 date at which the school closure expires. However, it is also possible that the Governor will extend the order if he believes that COVID-19 is still to rampant.

The sad thing is that Governor Beshear, who was just so eager to protect what he saw as Kentuckians’ rights when he was Attorney General has lost all sight of our rights with his COVID-19 orders. An even sadder thing is that people now have to go to court in the hope of protecting their rights, because our elected representatives sure won’t do it.