Court dismisses ACLU case against Governor Morrisey’s vaccine exemptions

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) — A Kanawha County judge dismissed the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia’s (ACLU-WV) case against an executive order from Governor Patrick Morrisey that would allow religious exemptions from mandatory vaccine requirements.

Governor Patrick Morrisey announced the dismissal in a post on X Wednesday afternoon.

“The ACLU’s court case challenging my executive order to protect religious liberty and grant exemptions to mandatory vaccine requirements has been DISMISSED. We are hopeful this is the first of many legal victories to come,” Gov. Morrisey said.

The lawsuit was a joint effort between the ACLU-WV and Mountain State Justice. It claimed that Morrisey did not have the authority to enforce his order since the state legislature did not pass the bill.

The ACLU-WV had filed the Writ of Mandamus on behalf of two parents who have immunocompromised children. The plaintiffs argued that immediate action needed to be taken to completely halt the Department of Health’s compliance with Morrisey’s executive order as the new school year is just around the corner.

The court case went on for two hours before it was ultimately dismissed by Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Ballard. According to the judge, the law requires that when legal action is filed against state agencies, the agency is to be given at least 30 days notice. He said the plaintiffs did not provide this notice.

However, the plaintiffs argued that there is an exception to the law, and that they may request for injunctive relief if there is a risk of irreparable harm. Ballard, however, ruled that they had not provided enough proof of that risk to constitute a decision being made.

As it stands now, Morrisey’s executive order states that state health officials must allow for religious exemptions to state-mandated vaccine laws that are still in place. In June, however, the West Virginia Board of Education unanimously voted to uphold the state-mandated laws for the upcoming school year.

Multiple lawsuits have been filed challenging both Morrisey’s order and the WVBE’s decision to uphold vaccine mandates.