Ruling for Gov. Edwards is as much a loss for Jeff Landry as it is for House Republicans

In an attempt to be cute, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry tweeted Monday that the statute Republicans in the Louisiana House used to order a halt to the governor’s public health emergency order is so simple that even a Bama fan can understand it. Landry’s tweet — meant as an insult to Gov. John Bel Edwards and everybody else who has objected to what House Republicans did — highlighted the part of the state’s Health Emergencies Act that says that a petition signed by a majority of a single chamber of the Louisiana Legislature can put an end to such orders.

Landry rather quickly deleted that tweet, but not soon enough that we didn’t get to see a half-thought out argument that went like this: The petition process is written down in Louisiana law; therefore, the legality of what state House members are doing should not be questioned.

But no one was arguing against the existence of a law allowing a petition process. The governor said he wouldn’t acknowledge the petition because he doesn’t believe that process is constitutional.

Has Landry never seen a law he believes is unconstitutional?

That’s a joke, of course. Back in July, Landry issued an official attorney general’s opinion that Gov. Edwards’ order shutting down bars and mandating face masks for the general public “does not pass the constitutional test” and “cannot be enforced with criminal or financial sanctions.” With Landry’s opinion in their hands, two groups of bar owners went running to separate federal courts, and both federal courts let them know that the order did not offend the Constitution and that they’d been misled by the state’s attorney general. In New Orleans, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman mentioned the AG by name, writing, “Attorney General Landry’s thoughtful opinion is due respect, but it lacks the force of law and binds neither the Court nor the Governor.”

Read more: https://lailluminator.com/2020/11/13/ruling-for-gov-edwards-is-as-much-a-loss-for-jeff-landry-as-it-is-for-house-republicans/