‘We do not have a constitutional right to infect others,’ judge rules
Palm Beach County’s mask order upheld
Palm Beach County did nothing illegal by making people wear coronavirus marks in public places, a judge said Monday, upholding measures that have sparked a furious debate about public safety and personal freedom.
“We do not have a constitutional right to infect others,” Circuit Court Judge John Kastrenakes said in his order, the first in South Florida.
Kastrenakes said the county was within its rights to require a mask to protect the public during a deadly pandemic, and people who challenged the mandate failed to show that their constitutional rights were violated.
“The right to be ‘free from governmental intrusion’ does not automatically or completely shield an individual’s conduct from regulation,” Kastrenakes wrote in his order.
Some Palm Beach County residents have vociferously opposed the mask requirements, which have provoked challenges, both physical and legal, in businesses and courts.
Stores, restaurants and other businesses have seen fights break out across the country when customers defy mask requirements. Last week, a Palm Beach County man was arrested for pulling a gun on another customer who asked him to wear a mask in Walmart.
The rules regarding masks in each county can be confusing, with a patchwork of specific prohibitions and exemptions.
Generally speaking, you have to wear masks in South Florida when you’re not in your residence or when physical distancing is not possible. There are exemptions for people eating in restaurants, people swimming or showering at gyms, doing other strenuous physical activities, people with some disabilities or medical conditions and children younger than 2.
Four Palm Beach County residents who sued June 30 said that being forced to wear masks infringes on their constitutional rights to free speech and privacy.
The four residents are represented by Pompano Beach attorney Louis Leo IV, who could not be reached for comment by phone or email. He responded to the decision in a public post on his Facebook page, saying the order “pav[ed] the way for continued government tyranny under the guise of disease prevention in Palm Beach County.”
Leo said he will appeal Monday’s decision, which would likely go to the District Court of Appeals next.
Judge Kastrenakes wrote: “Constitutional rights and the ideals of limited government do not absolve a citizen from the real-world consequences of their individual choices, or otherwise allow them to wholly skirt their social obligation to their fellow Americans or to society as a whole. This is particularly true when one’s individual choices can result in drastic, costly, and sometimes deadly, consequences to others.”
A Miami resident sued Miami-Dade County over its order, calling the requirement “radical,” and a lawsuit challenging one provision in Broward County’s order was filed Sunday.