Afternoon Briefs: 6th Circuit won't delay inmate transfer; sheriff declines to enforce stay-at-home order
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6th Circuit refuses to delay inmate transfer
On Monday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Cincinnati refused to delay the transfer of more than 800 medically vulnerable inmates amid a coronavirus outbreak at the Elkton Federal Prison in Columbiana County, Ohio. The prison has a dorm-style structure that makes it impossible to implement social distancing. Seven inmates have died at the facility. (Cleveland.com, WFMJ via the Marshall Project)
Sheriff declines to enforce stay-at-home order
A sheriff in Washington is facing a recall effort after he questioned the constitutionality of the governor’s stay-at-home order during the novel coronavirus crisis and said he would not enforce it. Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney asked the county to defend him in any recall effort, but the county prosecutor declined the request. (MyNorthwest via the Marshall Project, HeraldNet)
City can’t enforce bias ordinance that was ‘just an idea,’ court says
A Florida appeals court has ruled that Jacksonville, Florida, failed in its efforts to amend its human rights ordinance to cover discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The amendment listed sections of its ordinance that would be changed and said the city’s office of general counsel would write the text later. The Florida First District Court of Appeal said the full text of the proposed changes had to be in writing before adoption. “Without all of that, an amendment is just an idea,” the appeals court said. “Ideas alone are not enforceable.” (The Florida Times-Union, the May 1 opinion)
