Federal judge in Texas strikes down U.S. COVID-19 eviction moratoriumReuters, Mar 17, 2021
A federal judge in Texas on Thursday ruled unconstitutional a national moratorium the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has instituted for most residential evictions to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Siding with a group of landlords and property owners challenging the evictions freeze, U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker in Tyler, Texas, ruled the CDC exceeded its authority under the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.
“The court concludes that the federal government’s Article I power to regulate interstate commerce and enact laws necessary and proper to that end does not include the power to impose the challenged eviction moratorium,†Barker wrote.
The judge, appointed to the bench in 2019 by then-President Donald Trump, added: “Although the COVID-19 pandemic persists, so does the Constitution.â€
Barker said he expected the CDC to abide by his ruling and cease enforcement of the CDC’s moratorium order, imposed in September under the Trump administration and extended on Jan. 21, the day after President Joe Biden took office, to run at least another two months.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-evictions/federal-judge-in-texas-strikes-down-u-s-covid-19-eviction-moratorium-idUSKBN2AQ0E3