TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — An appeals court judge has reinstated Governor Ron DeSantis' mask mandate ban while the case continues to move through the courts. The court did this by re-imposing a stay on Judge John C. Cooper's order that halted the mandate ban.
The appellate court victory allows the state to continue punishing school districts that mandate them, at least until the appeals judge rules on the mandates' legality.
"Upon our review of the trial court’s final judgment and the operative pleadings, we have serious doubts about standing, jurisdiction, and other threshold matters," court documents said. "These doubts significantly militate against the likelihood of the appellees’ ultimate success in this appeal. Given the presumption against vacating the automatic stay, the stay should have been left in place pending appellate review."
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Judge removes stay and blocks Florida's mask mandate ban
"There’s no harm to the defendants if the stay is set aside," the judge who previously vacated the stay said earlier this week. "That the legislatures already said certain policies can be adopted if they comply with the requirements of the statutes. There’s nothing in my judgment from enforcing the full bill of rights. I’m just saying you can’t enforce part of it, which is what the evidence shows."