Federal Judge: Andrew Cuomo, Bill de Blasio Violated Religious Freedom

U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe handed down a preliminary injunction on Friday against New York officials for violating the First Amendment by shutting down religious services while encouraging Black Lives Matter protests.

Earlier this month, two Catholic priests and three Orthodox Jews came together in a lawsuit against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, alleging that Democrats were violating their religious liberty under the First Amendment (and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment) by discouraging religious gatherings while joining large crowds of protesters in the streets.

On Friday, a federal judge agreed. While praising the officials for their leadership in fighting the coronavirus, he ruled that they had violated the rights of the plaintiffs in their restrictions on religious services:

And what are the consequences when the government oversteps it’s boundaries? Oh, that’s right, nothing.

There are few consequences to public officials insofar as there are so many immunities, that it's almost impossible to sue:
Judges, even if they break the law (absolute Judicial immunity)
Prosecutors even when they withhold exculpatory evidence, which causes a false conviction (absolute Prosecutorial immunity)
Legislative Immunity (which is absolute, in that you can't sue for any unexpected, or even expected, outcomes from the laws they pass.
Governors enjoy qualified immunity, which protects them, unless they break the law, and that the law they broke is known to them. Police enjoy this same immunity, called qualified immunity, and it protects "all but the plainly incompetent and those who knowingly break the law"
It turns out now that Lawyers are gaining absolute immunity in some states, and qualified immunity from suit in other states.

Your local school board enjoys immunity from suit, as do all administrators in government. This does not even take into account, sovereign immunity, which protects all state employees from suit. If you only thought the laws applied to you, and not our political and judicial elite, you are entirely correct.

SCOTUS has continually expanded qualified immunity, to the extent you won't ever be able to find an attorney to represent you, unless something along the lines of George Floyd, and even then, it is likely the city and state will be immune. We need to start a movement to remove all liability in all matters, if we want government to be accountable. Without remedies, our constitution might as well be written on toilet paper.

TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 242

Section 242 of Title 18 makes it a crime for a person acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.

For the purpose of Section 242, acts under "color of law" include acts not only done by federal, state, or local officials within their lawful authority, but also acts done beyond the bounds of that official's lawful authority, if the acts are done while the official is purporting to or pretending to act in the performance of his/her official duties. Persons acting under color of law within the meaning of this statute include police officers, prisons guards and other law enforcement officials, as well as judges, care providers in public health facilities, and others who are acting as public officials.

It is not necessary that the crime be motivated by animus toward the race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin of the victim.

The offense is punishable by a range of imprisonment up to a life term, or the death penalty, depending upon the circumstances of the crime, and the resulting injury, if any.

Identifying a specific injury may be problematic although these days mental anguish seems to be a profitable injury.

Let’s see: A mafia “mademan” wannabe; a black racist hatemonger; and a red-blooded “Red”.

When was the last time a major court kicked these bastards in the balls?

We want and I’m singing Andrea True Connection’s “More, More, More”!

Great, send 27 FBI agents, a helicopter and boat to take both into custody. Plus don’t forget to notify CNN so they can provide live coverage. Until that happens there is no Law in the USA. “Roger Stone get preferential treatment”, maybe we should share such preferential treatment with other defendants. Only fair!

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