From the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the civil rights lawyers at Famighetti & Weinick PLLC, have predicted that constitutional challenges to government covid-19 regulations would likely fail. Our videos and blogs have outlined some of our reasoning and earlier this month, partner Matt Weinick published an article further discussing the role of a 1905 Supreme Court case, which would likely prove fatal to most constitutional challenges.
This week, a Brooklyn federal judge again rejected another constitutional challenge, this time brought by a Long Island strip club and its owner. Today’s Long Island civil rights blog discusses the case and the judge’s decision.
In McCarthy v. Cuomo, the plaintiffs were the owner of a strip club, and the strip club itself. The essence of the lawsuit was similar to other challenges we’ve written about, except the suit also alleged that the plaintiffs were treated differently because of the type of business it conducts – a gentleman’s club. Generally, the plaintiffs alleged that the Governor’s shutdown orders and social distancing orders, violated the state and federal constitutions. They further alleged that the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program unlawfully prohibited them from applying because of the type of business they conduct.