U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle struck down the federal mask mandate for airplanes and other modes of public transportation Monday, writing in a 59-page ruling that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had exceeded its authority and failed to follow proper rulemaking procedures.
That decision, which led to U.S. airlines and other transportation hubs to promptly drop their mask mandates, has elicited mixed responses from travelers and concern from experts.
So who exactly is the judge at the center of it all?
Justice Department might appeal the mask ruling if the CDC says they're still needed
Politics
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Mizelle sits on the District Court for the Middle District of Florida. She was nominated by former President Donald Trump in September 2020 at age 33 and confirmed by a 49-to-41 Senate vote later that year...
...While Mizelle has not been in her position for long, she's found herself at the center of controversy before: During her Senate confirmation process, the American Bar Association (ABA) said she was not qualified for the position because she had not been practicing law for long enough.
Apparently she has a good understanding of the law, there has been no challenge to her epic decision.
Well, as the decision was unexpected, the Biden administration stepped back to evaluate before appealing, and they are appealing.
She actually took the cafeteria approach in looking at the CDC authorizations. She emphasized those that could support her decision and ignored other aspects altogether. For instance, when the CDC was created they knew they could not be able to anticipate future measures needed to protect public completely, so a part of their mandate in nonspecific, as in "take any other measures deemed necessary", which she totally ignored.
A bit of hesitation in appealing is that it would go to the 11th circuit which has a strong conservative bias, as does the next step in appeals, the current supreme court.
What her decision has done is basically taken away government authority to take action in any future disease outbreaks. For instance, if the had an outbreak of pneumatic plague (air borne black plague), which has killed at least one third of the population (some estimates are as high as two thirds) in the past, the government's hands would be tied in trying to contain and control it.
Covid-19 was pretty mild as pandemics go. Making rulings and policies based on Covid alone will ultimately be disastrous for humanity.