Quarantine Camps

Last week I broke the news in my Substack article that after three long years of fighting the imperious governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, and her despotic Department of Health, New York State’s highest court (the Court of Appeals) refused to hear my “quarantine camp” lawsuit appeal. In rejecting my appeal, the high Court solidified the lower appellate court’s partisan decision to overturn my trial court victory from 2022 which wiped out Governor Hochul’s disgracefully authoritarian quarantine camp regulation. The fallout from this is far reaching and very serious, and I am receiving a myriad of questions about the status of all of this, so I will clarify further here.

First and foremost, New York’s quarantine camp regulation (10 NYCRR 2.13 “Isolation and Quarantine Procedures”) no longer exists today. It’s a bit confusing as to why, but I’ll spell it out for you. You see, the regulation was issued by Hochul’s Department of Health (DOH) as an “emergency” reg. Every couple of months, the reg was set to expire (as emergency regs must), but Hochul ensured that her DOH kept re-issuing it so it wouldn’t lapse. Meanwhile, her DOH was working to make the reg permanent. I knew I was under the gun to get the lawsuit drafted, filed, and fought before it became permanent because if the reg was permanent, then no matter what I did at trial court level, if I ultimately lost the case, the reg would automatically become reinstated. However, if I got the emergency reg declared unconstitutional, even if I later lost on appeal, by then the emergency reg would have expired which means it could not be automatically reinstated by a higher court. Instead, the DOH would have to start anew and go through all of the requisite steps to re-issue the reg from the beginning again.

So this is why I basically abandoned my law practice for months on end in order to focus 100% on this lawsuit. The stakes were too high, and the clock was ticking. Indeed, I was successful in moving quickly enough to sue when the reg was still in an “emergency” phase. Since I prevailed in getting it struck down before they could make it permanent, the reg does not exist today. This means that in order for it to be re-issued, the DOH will have to start from the beginning, something they certainly can do since there is no longer anything stopping them from reissuing that tyrannical reg.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with what was 10 NYCRR 2.13, it gave the DOH the power to lock you up or lock you down, wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted, for however long they wanted, without any proof you were sick! There was no time restriction, so they could imprison you for days, weeks, months… There was no age restriction, so they could take you away, or your child, or grandchild, or elderly parent. There was no notice required, so they could have knocked on your door during dinner and hauled you away. And they gave themselves the power to use law enforcement to carry out their unconstitutional orders. Absolutely disgraceful. You can read the reg for yourself here. (It’s on the last page or so of the trial court judge’s decision).

Photo by emanphoto.com

The next important fact to realize is that every state has quarantine laws. Yes, even Florida, folks. But this was not a law. New York’s quarantine camp reg that I got struck down was a regulation, not a law. There is a tremendous difference between the two. I explain…

Think back to grammar school Social Studies class. We have three branches of government - Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. Each has its own powers and autonomy, and they work to keep each of the other branches in check. At least, that’s what is supposed to happen, but it didn’t happen in the case at bar.

Very simply, the Judicial branch is comprised of the courts and judges, and it is empowered to decide when our laws are broken and by whom. The Legislative branch, comprised of the Assembly and Senate, makes our laws. Every two years here in New York, we can elect new senators and assemblymembers if we don’t like the laws they are making. (Side bar: As with any election, whichever party does the best job at raising awareness of the issues, motivating their voters to get out and vote, forging into new neighborhoods or voting blocks, registering new voters, and so on, wins the elections. Here in New York, we have had one-party-rule on steriods for the past six years with the Democrats exclusively controlling our Senate, Assembly, governor’s mansion and Attorney General’s office. So you can see who’s more organized and invested in winning). But, I digress. Getting back to the separation of powers…

The Executive branch is headed by the governor, and beneath her or him are the dozens of agencies that the governor controls… Departments of Health, Education, Transportation, and so on. This branch is supposed to enforce the laws made by the legislature. As such, agencies can issue regulations as long as there is an enabling statute issued by the legislature that gives the agency the power to make the reg. Agencies cannot make regs that conflict with our laws. Agencies cannot make regs that conflict with our Constitution. Agencies are limited in power because you cannot elect the heads or members of agencies. These people making the regs are bureaucrats and answer to nobody except the politician that hired them.

Remember folks, WE CONTROL THE GOVERNMENT. The government does NOT control us. That is how our Constitutional Republic is supposed to work. That is how it’s structured. So whomever is making our laws, answers to us. If they think you are paying attention and that you will vote them out, they will bow to your wishes. None of them want to lose their cushy jobs ($142,000/year salary, plus per diems, plus benefits, plus at least $400,000+/year to pay their staff, and they work less than 6 months a year). If you don’t speak up, they do as they please. Want to change the law makers? Great. Go vote every other year and choose someone new. Next election is 2026.

Want to change the bureaucrats who make our regs? Then vote in a new governor! That’s the only way. Just like we saw happen in November on the national level… Americans didn’t like what the agencies were doing (open borders, allowing illegal drug and human trafficking, wasting hundreds of billions of our taxes on importing and then supporting illegal aliens, refusing to enforce our laws, ignoring citizens who fell victim to natural disasters, etc.), so they/we voted in a new President who vowed to change all the agency heads… and he is.

Reverting back to my point - when an agency (like the DOH did here) makes a regulation without authority, then it is illegal. Here, the DOH not only made a quarantine camp reg without authorization from the legislature, the reg also severely conflicted with New York’s quarantine law (one of the main reasons the trial court ruled in my favor and struck down the reg). We’ve had a quarantine law since 1953, and it is full of due process protections. Hochul’s quarantine camp reg had zero due process protections, and instead was littered with totalitarian desires that allowed these unelected bureacrats to imprison you without proof of illness, for an indefinite amount of time, controlling your every move while in captivity, and without access to an attorney until after you were locked up. Guilty until proven innocent! So stunningly unconstitutional, folks.

Photo by emanphoto.com

My next point to clarify is that I brought this case in State court in New York because there was no other choice. Some of you have asked why didn’t I sue in a more favorable state, like Florida or Texas. I didn’t because I couldn’t. You cannot just sue wherever you want in the country. The court you sue in must have jurisdiction over your case, otherwise the case will be dismissed. This was a New York reg in conflict with a New York law, in violation of the New York constitution, etc… It had to be brought in New York. Others of you have asked why not sue in a federal court instead of state court. Again, you cannot just pick (or “shop” for) any court you want and then file there. That is called “forum shopping” and it’s not allowed.

Furthermore, my quarantine camp lawsuit was in federal court at one point. A little known fact is that when I first filed the case in NYS Supreme Court (ie trial court), the Attorney General removed my case to federal court. Their reason? They claimed they preferred a federal judge hear the case. (I explain their real reason below). We fought about it back and forth, and at oral arguments, the federal judge made it crystal clear that the case didn’t belong in his court because it was all about NYS law… not federal law. He was short and decisive, and he ruled from the bench (a rarity). Of import is the fact that the reason the Attorney General removed my case to federal court was because if I hadn’t fought to get it remanded back to State court and it had remained in federal court, their next step would have been to make a motion to dismiss my case based on, what…? Sit down for this one - based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction! Are you following me and how utterly dishonest, even corrupt this is? The AG removed my case to a court that did not have proper jurisdiction so they could then have it dimissed for improper jurisdiction. How do I know this? Aside from the fact that the NY Attorney General, Tish James, is not an upstanding lawyer, I knew that the AG had done exactly that in a number of other cases brought by other NY attorneys. So I knew of her deceitful trick and was able to dodge that bullet.

Moving on to the judges… many of you have asked who the judges were who denied my appeal. That is public information, as they are the seven judges who sit on the NYS Court of Appeals (our highest state court). Here is the link to their website if you’d like to get details about them: Court of Appeals. Please recognize that these judges are all appointed by NYS governors. So when you vote for governor, you are also voting for the person who will determine whether or not your courts are formidable or lawless. I can tell you after watching and engaging with the appellate judges in New York State the past few years, I find that they are a travesty to our justice system. Kathy Hochul has an abysmal approval rating right now of about 30%. Her miserable tenure as governor has not only wreaked havoc on our safety, our livelihoods, our children, and our autonomy, but on our justice system as well. Remember this next year when you vote for governor!!

You may be wondering how did I ever win my quarantine camp and my Prop 1 cases at trial court? The answer is simple: trial court judges in NYS are elected. Not appointed.

The moral of this story isn’t to pack up your things and move to a “red” state, or if you’re not in New York to thank heavens that you don’t live here. No. Neither one of those approaches are going to effectuate any change. We need to awaken the masses, end the apathy, and take back our State! Please check out this group, Uniting NYS. They are one of my plaintiffs in my quarantine camp lawsuit, and they work hard each day to awaken New Yorkers and provide action items you can do to help make change. It’s a fabulous organization, and they send out a weekly e-newsletter that I encourage everyone to sign up for. Here is their website: www.UnitingNYS.com Their motto is, “Unify. Organize. Act” and their slogan is, “Be a part of the movement to return the power to We The People!”

That pretty much says it all.

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Thank you

This is a joint effort… Keeping the public well informed on hot topics, legal issues, and more is something I love doing, but it takes time and resources to keep it going. Additionally, all of my lawsuits thus far against New York State, all of my speeches, conferences, and appearances, etc. I have done pro bono. Thank you to everyone who has made a donation to help support my work. I appreciate you!

If you haven’t yet, you can support my work in multiple ways:

• You can donate directly online at: www.CoxLawyers.com

• Larger donations can be sent to the Foundation for Constitutional Preservation and Advancement which is a 501c3 non-profit organization that supports my work.

• To support my quarantine camp lawsuit plaintiff who has helped me tremendously to raise awareness and continues to work to unify New York, you can donate at: www.UnitingNYS.com

• Stay Informed: Sign up for my weekly Substack, and then share it. Consider a paid subscription if you would like to help support my work.

• If you aren’t already, follow me now on Twitter… @Attorney_Cox

Thank you!

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