More than 160,000 people in Pennsylvania have contracted the virus since the beginning of the pandemic, and more than 8,100 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19, according to state health officials. After falling in August, infections have been trending back up in Pennsylvania as students head back to K-12 schools and colleges, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
Stickman’s ruling also invalidated key parts of the Wolf administration’s early pandemic response, including his orders requiring people to stay at home and shuttering thousands of businesses deemed “non-life-sustaining.” Wolf had since eased many of the restrictions the plaintiffs objected to in their lawsuit, and he said he has no plans to reinstate them.
Other state and federal courts have rejected various challenges to Wolf’s authority to impose public health orders in response to the pandemic.
But Stickman sided with plaintiffs that included hair salons, drive-in movie theaters, a farmer’s market vendor, a horse trainer and several Republican officeholders in ruling that Wolf’s policies were overreaching, arbitrary and violated citizens’ constitutional rights.
The three-judge appeals panel that put Stickman’s ruling on hold include two judges appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican, and one appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.
