RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has won another legal victory defending his COVID-19 executive orders, this time when a judge rejected Lt. Gov. Dan Forest’s demand that they be blocked by declaring his lawsuit as unlikely to succeed.
Judge Jim Gale rejected Forest’s request for a preliminary injunction on Tuesday.
The Republican lieutenant governor sued Cooper last month, alleging the Democrat’s orders limiting business activities and mass gatherings and mandating face coverings were unlawful because he failed to first get support from the Council of State. The 10-member council includes both of them, Attorney General Josh Stein and other statewide elected officials.
Cooper’s state attorneys argued that the governor acted properly under portions of the Emergency Management Act that don’t require the concurrence of the council.
Cooper and Forest are running for governor this fall.
Forest said in a news release that since the judge ruled “Cooper has 100% of the power during a declared emergency,” then the governor also “has 100% of the responsibility” for the results, including permanent business closings.
Cooper has said Forest’s legal actions, if successful, could worsen case and hospitalization numbers that have recently stabilized or improved.
“Gov. Cooper has taken decisive action with health and safety measures to save lives,” spokesperson Dory MacMillan wrote in an email.
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