Tamburino Talks Law: Ongoing mask discussion and how the Minneapolis requirement works

The ongoing mask discussion is leading to questions around the Minneapolis requirement. I discuss how the requirement works just click here to see my latest Tamburino Talks Law

On May 21^st the Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis issued an executive order mandating that anyone who enters a place of public accommodation must wear a mask. The order took effect at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26^th, and no end date is stated. There are three issues involved in this order that should be explained.

First, the order is legal. Pursuant to state law, the mayor of Minneapolis, as well as a mayor in any other Minnesota city, has emergency powers that allow him/her to issue emergency orders during a peacetime state of emergency as long as the orders are ratified by the city council. Here in Minnesota, we have been living under Gov. Walz’s peacetime emergency order since March 13^th. Mayor Frey issued the mask order as part of the peacetime emergency and the order was ratified by the Minneapolis City Council. Therefore, the order is legal.

Second, a place of public accommodation is basically any place that is open to the public. Examples of such places are: gas stations, stores, office buildings, skyways, restaurants, bars, breweries, malls, theaters, salons, tobacco shops, churches, synagogues mosques, and the common areas of hotels. It does not include individual hotel rooms, private offices, or any outdoor spaces.

Lastly, the timing of this order is perplexing because the mayor could have issued this order right after Gov. Walz issued a peacetime emergency declaration in March, and the mayor never gave a reason for why he waited so long. Perhaps he was hoping that Covid-19 would dissipate quickly and hospitalization rates would significantly decrease? We don’t know. But, the order now exists and it is a misdemeanor (punishable by up to 90 days in jail and up to $1,000.00 in fines) for any violation.

Comments

Tamburino Talks Law: George Floyd case and how change of venue request will be determined

All four defendants in the George Floyd murder case have asked the court for a change of venue due to negative media attention, and many people are wondering “what is venue” and what does it mean to change venue. Listen here to my full analysis on Tamburino Talks Law or see my article below. Here’s a quick explanation: Venue means where the crime allegedly happened is where the trial will be held. For example, if a liquor store is robbed in Blaine, MN, the robbery trial will happen in Anoka County because Blaine is located in Anoka County. A change of venue is where a court moves the trial from the original county to some other county because the defendant(s) are not likely to receive a fair trial in the original county due to negative pre-trial publicity. Usually the defense will present evidence to the court such as media studies, polling, and affidavits supporting their contention that the potential jury pool in the original county is prejudiced against the defense because o

Tamburino Talks Law: Minnesota on New York State Travel Advisory List

Click Here to Listen to Tamburino Talks Law: Minnesota on New York State Travel Advisory List Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York recently added Minnesota to the list of approximately 22 states that are part of New York special travel advisories and quarantine rules. New York decided that any person traveling to New York from a state that has a positive Covid-19 testing rate in excess of 10%, or a number of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents, based on a 7 day rolling average, must self quarantine for 14 days before they are allowed to travel freely within New York state. There are exceptions for essential workers (such as health care professionals), and for people who are simply traveling through New York and would only be in the state for less than 24 hours. The new rules also differentiate airline travel from non-airline travel. First, if you fly into any airport in New York you will be greeted by official personnel who will question you about where you tr

Tamburino Talks Law: Q&A "Should Elections be Suspended Due to COVID-19? What is the precedent?"

Sometimes during periods of great crisis people in powerful positions have some bad ideas. One of those bad ideas floating around now is the issue of whether we should postpone the general election. That’s a bad idea. We have never postponed a presidential election. Not during the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Great Depression, civil unrests, or pandemics have we ever postponed or suspended a presidential election. Our political system is strong and can adapt to all sorts of serious problems that may occur. Our right to vote is sacrosanct in the Constitution and nothing should stop or delay our vote in any election, especially a presidential election.

Tamburino Talks Law

Search This Blog