St. Louis Co. Judge: Attorney general's emergency rule won't go into effect until May 1
A circuit court judge issued a ruling that will delay the implementation of Attorney General Andrew Bailey's emergency rule restricting gender-affirming health care. The rule will not go into effect until 5 p.m. on May 1, according to court records.
St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Ellen Ribaudo issued the stay of enforcement that would allow the court time to "review the briefing sufficiently." According to court records, Ribaudo anticipates having a ruling on a request by ACLU of Missouri and Lambda Legal for a temporary restraining order by May 1. The ACLU and Lambda Legal, along with Bryan Cave Leighton, LLP, are representing Southampton Community Healthcare.
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“While we welcome this temporary relief, we look forward to the judge ultimately preventing this rule from going into effect," ACLU of Missouri and Lambda Legal said in a joint statement.
The ruling comes after the case was bounced from state court to federal court, sent back down to state court, and transferred to a different judge.
On April 26, Attorney General Andrew Bailey moved Southampton Community Healthcare v. Bailey, which asked for a temporary restraining order against Bailey's emergency rule, from a state court to a federal court.
In the notice of removal filed by Missouri's Solicitor General Joshua Divine, the notice cites 28 U.S.C. § 1331, which gives district courts jurisdiction over "civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States." In Southampton Community Healthcare's request for a temporary restraining order, they allege that the emergency rule violates the U.S. Constitution as well as the Missouri Constitution, therefore, Bailey argues, the case falls under federal jurisdiction.
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That notice came a little over 24 hours before the emergency rule was due to take effect, and hours before a state hearing on the temporary restraining order was set.
The ACLU of Missouri, Lambda Legal and Bryan Cave Leighton, LLP, all of whom represent Southampton Community Healthcare, filed an emergency motion to remand the case to state court. Judge Henry Autrey heard the motion, and ruled that the case be sent back to state court due to a lack of federal jurisdiction.
After that, Divine filed a motion for a change of judge in the state case. The case was transferred from St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Kristine Kerr to Ribaudo.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Judge delays Missouri AG's emergency rule restricting trans care
