Yuba City, Calif. – A State Superior Court judge tentatively ruled in favor today of Assemblymembers James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) and Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) in their abuse of power lawsuit against Governor Gavin Newsom.
In the tentative ruling, Judge Sarah Heckman declared the Governor’s recent Executive Order N-67-20 unconstitutional. More importantly, Judge Heckman’s tentative ruling places a permanent injunction against the Governor which prevents him from unilaterally making or changing state law moving forward.
Click here to read the tentative ruling issued today in Sutter County Superior Court.
Assemblymembers Gallagher and Kiley said, “We have been arguing that the California Emergency Services Act does not provide for one-man rule. Today, the Court agreed with us.”
“This is a victory for separation of powers. The Governor has continued to create and change state law without public input and without the deliberative process provided by the Legislature. Today the judicial branch again gave him the check that was needed and that the Constitution requires.”
“Nobody disputes that there are actions that should be taken to keep people safe during an emergency. But that doesn’t mean that we put our Constitution and free society on hold by centralizing all power in the hands of one man,” Gallagher and Kiley concluded.
The Court’s decision does not impact any of the election protocols for the 2020 election.
Click here to download video and b-roll from the October 7th pre-trial hearing.
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Assemblyman James Gallagher represents the 3rd Assembly District, which encompasses all of Glenn, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba counties as well as portions of Butte and Colusa counties.
Assemblyman Kevin Kiley represents the 6th Assembly District, which includes the Sacramento, Placer, and El Dorado County communities of Cameron Park, El Dorado Hills, Fair Oaks, Folsom, Granite Bay, Lincoln, Loomis, Orangevale, Penryn, Rocklin, Roseville, and Sheridan.
