I submitted a proposed amicus curiae brief, working with Agudath Israel of America, a leading advocacy group for orthodox Jews, in this case filed by the Thomas More Society, per this tweet:
Catholic Priests and Orthodox Jewish Congregants Sue New York Governor in Federal Court For Civil Rights Violations https://t.co/CEquVhNmhB
— Ron Coleman (@RonColeman) June 26, 2020
This morning (June 26th, 2010) the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York entered the injunction:
Having said that, the motion to intervene as amicus was denied, as is the more common outcome at the trial level. I successfully opposed such motions in the Gavin McInnes case in Alabama (which is still pending) and the COVID lockdown challenge I am handling with Harmeet Dhillon in New Jersey (also pending). Concomitantly, I was shut down when, on behalf of the Agudah, I moved for leave to be heard as an amicus in this one.
So, why bother? Because, while amici are (understandably) not really welcome at the trial-court level, usually the judge does take a look at these submissions, and some people believe they can see their effects on ultimate outcome.
If you want to also take a peek at what he submitted here and ponder whether the decision above was influenced by it all, here is what we submitted. It does present a pretty interesting angle on things, either way.
We also supplemented our submission, to wit:
Great win! Let’s see if Cuomo Et al appeal
It also helps that When you file in the NDNY presumably the bench is more receptive to free exercise claims than many of their colleagues in the SDNY and some in the EDNY
I think the case aagInst the camp closings has a fighting chance The Complaint is well drafted and I suspect that DOH didn’t take the Agudah submission re camps seriously It would be fascinating to see and read the email trails in DOH and to Cuomo as to how the “decision” to close the camps was reached That would be a huge smoking gun
It will be interesting!