SCOTUS kicks out the eviction moratorium
The case has not been decided, but a majority spoke.
In an unsigned order, the Supreme Court has ordered that the stay imposed by a lower court that kept the eviction moratorium alive be vacated. In practical terms, that means that the eviction moratorium is unenforceable and that evictions can proceed.
A few weeks ago, I detailed the background of the moratorium and the Biden Administration’s attempt to extend the CDC order through the end of October. Previously, the Supreme Court had upheld the last extension to the moratorium on the technical grounds that it was already set to expire in a few weeks. Justice Kavanaugh authored that ruling but fired a warning shot across the Biden Administration’s bow, noting that congressional action would be required for further extensions.
The new action from the Court is not a full decision on the case, but states, “The case has been thoroughly briefed before us— twice. And careful review of that record makes clear that the applicants are virtually certain to succeed on the merits of their argument that the CDC has exceeded its authority.”
The order did address the underlying facts of the case as well. The first sentence of the law places no obvious limit on the authority of the CDC to mitigate the spread of disease, but the Court points out that the statute does provide a guide.
“The Government contends that the first sentence of §361(a) gives the CDC broad authority to take whatever measures it deems necessary to control the spread of COVID–19, including issuing the moratorium,” notes the order, “But the second sentence informs the grant of authority by illustrating the kinds of measures that could be necessary: inspection, fumigation, disinfection, sanitation, pest extermination, and destruction of contaminated animals and articles.”
The order is presumed to have been a 6-3 decision. Justice Breyer penned a dissent that was joined by Justices Sotomayor and Kagan.
The White House issued a response Thursday evening in which it called upon state and local authorities to “urgently act to prevent evictions.” The statement also defended the moratoriums, saying that they “saved lives by preventing the spread of COVID-19.”
The Court’s order is appropriate and was not unexpected. The original eviction moratorium was passed by Congress, which had the authority to do so. While Congress appropriated rent-relief funds at the same time, much of this money was never distributed, which meant that landlords were footing the bill for tenants who failed to pay. This was not a sustainable situation.
There were opportunities for the Biden Administration to extend the moratorium as part of its COVID relief or infrastructure bills. Unfortunately, the Administration didn’t take action until a few days before the old moratorium expired. By then it was too late, and, realistically, it would have been tough to get Republicans to sign off on another extension anyway.
But, as I pointed out during the Trump Administration, not being able to work with Congress doesn’t mean that presidents get to use executive or emergency authority to circumvent the legislature. Presidents of both parties need to stop trying to short-circuit the system. It would also be helpful if opposition parties would negotiate in good faith.
President Biden gambled that the courts would be slow to act on the new moratorium. The Supreme Court called his bluff. Hopefully, the president has learned his lesson.
A few days ago, I mentioned that my local school system had implemented a mask mandate for students after only one week of classes. The following graphic is illustrative of why they made the change. As you may recall, masks were optional for students and mandatory for school employees. The difference in the statistics was stark.
Well, the new statistics are out. After the implementation of the mask requirement, active and close contact cases for students both declined and faculty statistics remained flat. The shift came so quickly that the anti-mask elements in the county seem to have been stunned into silence.
All is not completely well with the world, however. After these statistics were released, the news broke that this Friday’s football game was canceled due to “unforeseen” circumstances after the statistics were posted.
While the specifics were not made public, rumor has it that a large part of the football team has been quarantined due to close contact with an infected person. They probably weren’t wearing masks during practice, but that’s only a guess.
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I get tired of politicians of either stripe bemoaning rulings by the court. When you step over the line, more often than not the courts will reel you back in. Whining about it when you knew it was beyond what was legally allowed is simply your own brand of stupid. Biden was told he went too far, yup. DeSantis was told he went too far, yup. You guys are all surrounded by what i hope would be smart people. I guess in the end, either they aren't or you are just trying to make political points with your own tribe. Either way...pathetic.