Judge denounces mootness maneuvers in religious rights case

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted August 17, 2022 10:13 AM

Adding to his critique of an “unholy trinity of legal doctrines” that make it “easy for the government to avoid accountability” for conduct that violates “fundamental constitutional freedoms,” Circuit Judge James C. Ho denounced recent decisions that “misapply” the mootness doctrine based on what he considered an “excessive sense of deference to public officials, fear of deciding controversial cases, or simple good faith mistake.” Ho delivered his remonstrance when specially concurring in a per curiam decision by the 5th U …

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