Business Owners Rejected by SJC Now Want Supreme Court to Review Baker’s Use of Emergency Powers During COVID Pandemic

A group of business owners who unsuccessfully sought last year to overturn Governor Charlie Baker’s emergency powers during the pandemic is petitioning the Supreme Court to review the case, according to its lawyer, potentially extending what’s been a year-long challenge to the Republican governor’s authority.

Michael P. DeGrandis, an attorney with the New Civil Liberties Alliance that’s representing the business owners, argued Monday that the state’s Supreme Judicial Court erred in rejecting its lawsuit to overturn the dozens of emergency orders Baker has issued to slow the spread of COVID-19.

DeGrandis acknowledged that it’s unlikely the Supreme Court could act on its request before August, when Baker said he intends to lift the last of the restrictions he’s put on businesses and gatherings. But the governor has not indicated when he could end Massachusetts’ state of emergency declaration. Baker has wielded his emergency powers under a Cold War-era state law, known as the Civil Defense Act, which grants him broad authority to act in the face of certain crises.

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May 10, 2021