St. Louis County officials still prohibited from enforcing mask mandate, judge rules
St. Louis County can’t enforce a mask mandate issued by Executive Sam Page, a Missouri judge ruled Thursday, delivering Attorney General Eric Schmitt another victory in his fight to stop the directive.
Page’s mandate had already been blocked under a temporary restraining order. The decision by St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Ellen Ribaudo to issue a preliminary injunction means any effort to require people to wear masks is likely to prove futile.
While Schmitt has mounted a broad attack against mask mandates, the immediate legal dispute centers on whether Page has the authority to unilaterally impose one. The St. Louis County Council voted to overturn the mandate but Page had argued the vote wasn’t binding on him. The council has also rejected additional attempts to approve a new directive.
Ribaudo found that there was a likelihood that the council had the authority to repeal the mandate. She also noted that Page and other officials have indicated they were unlikely to enforce the mandate except in extreme circumstances, writing that by “their own admission it is a hollow threat which is unlikely to garner compliance if they have no intention to enforce.”
Schmitt, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, is also suing to stop Kansas City’s mask mandate. But unlike in St. Louis County, the attorney general hasn’t sought a temporary restraining order to quickly halt enforcement.
A hearing has been scheduled in the case for Nov. 22.
The Kansas City Council may extend the mandate, which will expire Aug. 28, as soon as Thursday. A council committee heard public testimony on the mandate on Wednesday before voting unanimously to advance the mandate extension to the full council.
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 12:39 PM.
