Mask Mandate Court Case: Arizona AG Files Appeal

PHOENIX, AZ — A local court’s ruling to strike down the state’s ban on mask mandates is already facing an appeal.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Wednesday that he had filed an appeal in the case. Brnovich asked the Arizona Supreme Court to take on the case, requesting to bypass the Court of Appeals where the case would typically be headed next. The Supreme Court had not announced whether it would take the case as of Wednesday morning, but it denied Brnovich’s request for a stay.

Enjoying our coverage of the mask mandate court battle? Subscribe for free Phoenix newsletters and real-time email alerts.

“There is an orchestrated attempt by outside left-wing groups to undermine Arizona’s lawfully enacted statutes in order to push their radical ideas,” said Brnovich, who is a Republican, in a news release. “I will continue to defend laws passed by our state legislature and uphold the will of Arizona families.”

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper ruled Monday to strike the mask mandate ban after a group of educators, parents and children’s advocacy groups filed a suit challenging the ban. The suit also challenged other laws passed as part of budget reconciliation bills this summer.

Cooper ruled that portions of three budget reconciliation bills passed in June were unconstitutional and struck down those portions of the bills. She also struck down the entirety of a fourth bill, according to court documents. The judge ruled that portions of those bills violated the state’s single subject rule for legislation and its rules that bill titles must clearly illustrate the legislation contained within them.

Follow Phoenix Patch on Facebook.